At such a close proximity, Magister Amadeus felt like a bonfire. The tumor erupting from his jaw and the bloody eyes lent him a demonic appearance. No pain marred his face---nothing did, as if he merely wore a skin mask stretched over his skull. Perhaps he was indeed a demon, though given the Archon of Flames’ paranoia, such a being could not conceivably assume a role of distinction among the Magistrate. Though it was also hard to reconcile this grotesquely nude dwarf with one of the highest offices in the Magistrate.

The more I considered the idea, the calmer I became. Engulfing myself in cold logic provided a welcome distraction. My breathing slowed, and I made a conscious effort to ease the tension locking me in place.

“Interesting,” said Amadeus in that soft voice of his. Blood stained his teeth. “You have touched Desolada more than most mortals could tolerate. Your mind has almost separated from the whims of the body. Full enlightenment has yet to come, but with proper tutelage you could be guided along the right path.”

Few things would please me less than accepting this monster as a mentor. Especially with how annoying it was to listen to him refer to himself as the royal ‘we.’ Being able to tolerate a potent Echo of Life corrupting your body from the inside held some temptation, but part of me wished to retain my humanity. A foolish, childish ambition, given the revenge I hoped to one day accomplish, but I was still a foolish child, after all.

“You know about my power,” I said.

“Powers,” he corrected. “A fascinating combination. An innate understanding of time, and the Lord of the Void’s first human scion in centuries. We have not heard of anyone manifesting temporal magic before, but we understand the Increate has a cruel sense of humor. You must have discovered this power after the Magistrate punished your dear father, correct?”

I said nothing, but he must have read the answer on my face. His lips curled into a smile; I preferred the skin mask.

Amadeus stood up from his crouch and rested a finger against the tumorous growth near his chin. “Yes, we were curious how you escaped. Your mother was no surprise---Melia Ansteri is a crafty one. But you should have been present. Remember, the Increate delights in our suffering. To a boy with no time left, He granted the ability to control time.”

My mind absorbed everything he said, finding this revelation quite interesting. My body, however, seized up at the mention of my mother’s name. In my mind’s eye, the white orb of void magic begged to be used, to wipe out whatever unnatural force animated this creature. Perhaps without the benefit of magic, he would finally succumb to the wounds Vishan had inflicted. He was stout, likely trained in all manners of deadly physical combat, but my hands itched to strangle him.

My voice was low and deadly. “Never speak of my parents again.”

“We are afraid you are in no position to make threats,” said Amadeus. “Once you have fulfilled your true potential, we do not doubt you could wipe all traces of us from existence. But for now, our fates are bound together. You will come with us to Velassa, and join the ranks of the Magistrate in due time.”

No doubt the man was a cruel monster, but I had not expected him to be so deranged. It started as a snort, but soon full-blown laughter erupted from my throat. For a long time I laughed, until I was wiping tears from my eyes, and the whole while Amadeus watched with that little smile set on his face.

Once I regained the capacity to talk, I wiped a sleeve across my face. “Me? A Magister? What kind---what sort of joke is that? No. Of course not.”

“We are afraid you are not allowed to refuse this offer.” Amadeus sighed. “Like yourself, we are bound to one of the Goetia. Duke Aym, the White Phoenix, Ash-Eater, Nul’gorath. We cannot allow a valuable asset such as yourself to wander aimlessly, becoming trapped in whatever web of fate others weave.”

“And Aym,” I said, “believes he can control Paimon’s first human scion in centuries?”

The Magister held out one deformed hand, and a small phoenix of fire manifested above his outstretched palm. Its miniature wings flapped as if it were flying, and it rolled and swooped about as if delighting in its journey.

After twenty seconds of this bizarre display, the phoenix disappeared. Amadeus clenched his fist and nodded. “The Great Duke is one of Paimon’s most loyal vassals. Of course he would not rebel against the Lord of the Void. We have just confirmed what we already knew: this request comes from Paimon himself. We are to guide you from this fallen city and serve as your guardian.”

His words no longer brought me any sort of amusement. “No. I refuse.”

Amadeus shook his head, like a teacher disappointed in a student’s absurd behavior. “You are mistaken about the nature of your contract with Lord Paimon. He did not grant you a portion of his anima so that you could use it without responsibility or consequence. You are his Echo, and will obey his commands.”

I stood up, supporting myself against the wall. “Then I refuse to be Paimon’s Echo any longer. It’s true that I’ve neglected my true potential. I could have plundered forbidden libraries. Stolen priceless treasures. No matter how terrible my crimes are, I can reverse them as if nothing happened. So I’ll do just that. I’ll find my own way.”

Amadeus covered his mouth with twisted fingers and barked out what must have been a chuckle. “That would be most convenient, would it not? Become Paimon’s Echo just long enough to escape the consequences of your actions. Then, once the danger has passed, you can cast aside his mantle like an old cloak. We are afraid such a thing is impossible.”

“I never agreed to any of this,” I said. “We made no oaths. He never told me I would have to accept whatever ridiculous command catches his fancy.”

“Did you ask?”

“Did I----” I paused, suddenly feeling very foolish. “No. He said that we would decide the terms of our agreement later.”

Amadeus shrugged. “Then it appears that time has come to pass. Surely you were warned about deals with the Goetia. Every child throughout the Civilized Lands is cautioned against the demon lords and their nefarious scheming.”

I blinked a few times as the reality of the situation began to settle in. “But I---there was no choice. There was no way to escape the tesseract without void magic.”

“We are not terribly familiar with the situation,” said Amadeus, “but did you try everything? How long were you trapped? And even then, you always have a choice.”

The coldly logical part of my mind conceded he had a point. Felix had suffered within the tesseract for months. I made it a few weeks before turning to the most drastic solution available. But I was not about to admit that.

“What choice is there? To die?”

“Yes.” The word was abrupt and final.

I ran a shaking hand through my hair. “I’ll have to discuss this with Paimon.”

“Do so. But first, reverse time to shortly before you encountered Vishan. Retreat slightly and wait for us. Now that we have had this discussion in peace, there is no need for us to kill him. At this rate, the corruption that Vishan amplified throughout this body will kill us within an hour.”

That sounded perfectly acceptable to me. The Echo of Life’s demise was a shame, but using my unreliable time magic to save this monster was not worth the risk.

Amadeus must have seen something in my expression, because he tilted his head to the side. “We told you that we would assist you in stabilizing your power.”

I kept my face as neutral as possible. “How do you plan to do that?”

Amadeus stretched his arms out at his side. “Adversity is the greatest catalyst for growth. If you are not able to perform as we requested, we will kill you.”

His words registered within less than a second. Void magic swirled around my mind, gathered in my hand. All of it I had left, except for a miniscule bead. Though it drained more energy than I was used to, the nullifcation energyremained stable enough; it was a borrowed power from a being beyond my comprehension, after all.

I thrust my palm at Amadeus’ chest. With lightning speed he grabbed my wrist from the air, but contact was unnecessary. Visualizing it as an attack merely helped channel the void. Nullification magic surged into the Magister’s body, and for a moment the shimmers of mirage-heat that made up his aura disappeared.

Only to flare back stronger than before, taking on a ghostly white tinge.

He still held on to my wrist. Unbearable heat from his hand seared through my flesh. A stench like burnt pork assaulted my nostrils. Unable to contain my scream, I kicked out, my heel catching him on the side of the knee with a triumphant crunch. To my relief he released me from his grip and stumbled away.

I kept after him, my earlier debilitation eclipsed by surging adrenaline.

Amadeus opened his mouth to talk.

Not the time for words.

Though my right hand was near useless, I launched an elbow at the Magister’s head. He weaved beneath it, lower lip protruding like a petulant child’s. Black veins had sprouted across his face, trailing down his neck and towards his heart. Some sort of demonic power? No---he couldn’t hold off the corruption from Vishan’s curse while focusing on me.

Most of my combat training was with the blade, so my assault was a frenzied flurry of kicks and wild swings of my left arm. My heartbeat hammered in my ears. For a few seconds I thought I had him, then he snatched a particularly wild kick from the air. Holding my ankle with both hands, he swept my support leg out from under me.

Air whooshed out of my lungs as I slammed into the ground.

Before I could regain my composure, the Magister materialized a sword of white flame in his hand. His left knee buckled, barely able to support his weight, the injury likely exacerbated from knocking me to the ground.

“We must admit, you do possess an extraordinary amount of potential.” He sounded calm, though a hint of annoyance colored his tone. “Under normal circumstances, we would not have allowed you to even raise your hand. But you saw your enemy’s weakness and took advantage. Commendable.”

I spit up at him but it fell disappointingly short. Laying on my back, drained of void magic and bereft of a suitable weapon, there was not much I could do. My right hand rested on my chest, the flesh of my wrist melted almost to the bone. Gritting my teeth, I drove my heels into the floor and pushed myself along the ground, determined to keep some distance between us.

Amadeus hobbled after me, nodding as if pleased. The sword of flame cast dancing shadows along his body. “You did not allow us to explain why we wish for you to become a Magister. First, we seek the same goal. To raze the Panopticon to the ground, and end Archon Nony’s reign of terror. Few people are aware, but most of the Archons are not the original demigods. They merely adopt the name, purging the public records of any images of the prior incumbent.”

He ceased his pursuit, allowing me to keep some distance between us. Once I was certain he was no longer following, I scrambled to my feet. Was he succumbing to his injuries?

“Nony, however,” the Magister continued, “is one of the few original Archons. Many have sought his downfall, but he has maintained his title for over a millennia. He is, perhaps, the true phoenix. But we will devour everything he has, and Magister Amadeus will ascend. You bear witness to the next Archon Nony.”

I settled back into a semblance of a fighting stance, right arm dangling at my side. “You’re deranged. That’s an interesting story, but so far, I don’t like you much more than that bastard.”

Amadeus squatted down, expression neutral, then stood at full height once more. To my dread, his knee no longer seemed to bother him. What kind of fire magic allowed one to heal? Still, the black network of veins continued to spread, inching ever closer toward his heart.

“Perhaps you will appreciate our second point, then.” Amadeus strolled forward, blazing sword pointed in my direction. “Melia Ansteri still lives as a captive of the Magistrate. She has friends in high places who stopped at nothing to delay her execution for so long. Of course, you cannot assume your true identity and demand her release, but perhaps some sort of arrangement could be made.”

The fight drained out of me. I shook my head, willing some of that fervor to return. “Why would you lie about that?”

That small smile returned. With two fingers, Magister Amadeus touched his forehead, then his diseased heart. “We make an oath on our mind, our soul, our being. Melia Ansteri still lives, a prisoner in the depths of the Panopticon’s dungeons. Please us with your dedication to becoming an Ember, and we will ensure her safe release.”

Mouth dry, I found myself at a loss for words. Dumbly, I nodded.

“Unfortunately,” said Amadeus, “we did say that adversity is necessary for growth. That may have calmed you, but it will not stabilize your magic. Now, witness.”

Amadeus bent slightly at the knees, holding his conjured sword overhead. His aura flared sickly white. Before I could even react, he crossed the ten paces between us in an instant. I turned to follow his movement as he rushed behind me, almost stumbling over my own feet.

I blinked. The Magister turned to face me, sword extinguished. With one stubby finger he tapped his right shoulder. At first, the gesture made no sense. Then I glanced down at my arm---at least where it had been a moment before. Nothing remained but a cauterized stump. A dismembered arm lay on the ground beside me, the wrist a mangled mess of scorched flesh with blisters to the forearm.

The pain rushed in all at once. All of my earlier discomfort paled in comparison. During the fight with Champion Jokul, I had received several fatal blows, but I reversed them before they even registered. I had never truly suffered a real injury.

Along with the pain came a strong, disorienting vertigo. Darkness crept into the corners of my vision. Before I lost consciousness, time magic flared in the back of my mind. Not too far back….not too far back.

Amadeus touched a finger to his jaw. “We will see you soon.”