Episode Five: End of the New World

 Episode Five: End of the New World

 

               “Don’t know if I like this. I can’t help but feel like I’m running away,” Romulo muttered.

               Elena nodded, but she did not immediately reply; she instead fought to catch her breath as they slowly jogged through the interlocking streets. Her pegleg squealed with every step, and her leg bled slightly in the place where it bonded to her prosthetic. Romulo recognized her struggle and slowed his pace, but Elena pushed herself forward with all her strength. A faint drizzle fell from the overcast sky and shimmered in the daylight. Distant thunder rumbled beneath dark clouds, and the wind swept dust and debris from the streets. Whenever they approached another intersection, Romulo sped ahead and stealthily searched for enemy soldiers. It seemed that the citizens had hidden themselves indoors.

               “They’re targeting you. It’s a bad move to walk right into their trap! You’re a good strategist; you’re a great strategist! You know it’s a bad idea. They have no reason to hurt people if they just want you,” Elena reasoned.

               Romulo shook his head and answered, “That didn’t stop them from hurting people before, and it won’t stop them now. The only thing that changed is I’m not there to protect them.”

               Elena nodded somberly as she said, “You couldn’t protect them anyway. Our monoliths need to recharge, don’t they? If you just stayed by the infirmary back there, you couldn’t fight anyone. You had just used them to fight someone else. You’d be defenseless!”

               As the drizzle slowly transformed into a rainstorm, Romulo sighed and slowed to a stop. He explained, “You’re half-right. I recalled my red sorcerer and hadn’t used my black monolith, so I could at least still fight with those. Besides, our monoliths are like little parasites. When we expend energy, it flows into them. All this running has probably replenished their power. If I couldn’t fight them then, maybe I could at least fight back now.”

               A low rumble of thunder coursed through the sky and forced the street to tremble. The pouring rain flattened Romulo’s hair, and his soaked clothes became plastered to his skin. Even Elena’s curly hair turned wavy from the weight of water. Her light brown eyes studied Romulo as he seemed to contemplate his next move, but the conundrum had confounded him. Instead of continuing to jog, he set his back upon the brick wall of a building. He stood just steps away from an awning, but he chose to stand in the pouring rain; it had already soaked him.

               “Do you think we should go back to the infirmary?” Elena sheepishly asked. The rain had soaked the wood which made her pegleg, and it seemed to struggle beneath her weight. She leaned against the brick wall and lifted her prosthetic leg off the ground.

               Romulo sighed and answered, “I don’t think we could make it in time. I don’t know if there’s anyone still there. Or maybe our real mistake was stopping in the first place. I think someone’s coming.”

               Elena swerved her head and saw a silhouette approaching through the pouring rain. Without determining whether this silhouette represented a tangible threat, Romulo pushed himself into motion and offered his arm to Elena. She sensed his urgency and kicked off the brick wall, leaning her weight on Romulo’s strong arm as she struggled to stabilize herself. The two friends quickly jogged away from the silhouette, racing through the downpour even though Elena could hardly keep herself upright. She nearly tripped every time her pegleg struck the edge of a cobblestone, but she always caught herself at the last moment. Romulo led her down a narrow alley, and before long, they found their way into the quiet courtyard of a large church.

               “They’re not the monks, but maybe they can help,” Romulo reasoned.

               “I heard you mention them before. Who exactly are the monks?” Elena asked as they scurried toward the church doors.

               “The monks are powerful conjurers who serve to defend those who come to them for protection. They do not align themselves with Aegea or any other city-state, but they consider themselves protectors of human life. They’re basically the last place for people to run and hide. Especially now when Adriatic soldiers are invading the city,” Romulo explained.

               When Romulo reached the large front door of the church, he firmly pushed to force it open, but the locked door would not budge. He then banged forcefully upon it, hoping the echoes of his knock could drown out the patter of pouring rain. But after half a minute of waiting and intermittent knocking, Romulo and Elena accepted that no one would let them inside; they wondered if anyone was even inside in the first place. But when they turned their attention back toward the courtyard, Romulo saw a human-sized silhouette beneath the pouring rain. He groaned, swept Elena into his arms, and then dashed across the courtyard as quickly as he could. She protested at first, but she could see the determination in his eyes; he would not let an enemy soldier catch them in a dead-end.

               The silhouette moved closer when Romulo approached an alleyway at the courtyard’s entrance, but Romulo outran him and executed a swift swerve. With Elena in his arms, Romulo splashed through puddles and jumped over fallen branches. He ducked beneath trees and felt Elena’s wet hair slap across his skin, but she clenched his strong body tightly. A web of lightning raced across the sky and illuminated the city for an instant, but when it disappeared, Romulo tripped in a puddle before his eyes could readjust. As he fell to the ground, he swerved and cradled Elena in his arms; he landed on his back with a skid. Elena gasped as she fell out of his arms and rolled across the street, but Romulo worked to quickly pull himself back onto his feet.

               “Don’t embarrass yourself by trying to run. You had to know that this was a foregone conclusion,” said the silhouette in the rain from a short distance away.

               Romulo faced the dark shape and whispered, “Get out of here, Elena. I don’t think that he is an ordinary enemy. You aren’t safe here.”

               “Fuck that! I’m not running. I’ll fight with you; I’ll fight by you! Who cares if he’s not ordinary? He can’t take on both of us!” Elena shouted, practically pleading as she tried to climb upright.

               “The choice isn’t yours. You’ll stay out of this whether you want to or not,” retorted the enemy as he unleashed the power of the Adriatic Emblem.

               After forcing his violet monolith to reverberate with a gentle smack, the rain-cloaked enemy forced a white ellipse to appear around his feet. The glow illuminated every falling raindrop with a haunting light, and then it rapidly expanded like an inescapable fire. Romulo glared at the approaching ellipse, but instead of running, he helped Elena climb to her feet. The edge of the luminous ellipse pushed Elena aside, and then it locked her away from Romulo. It stopped expanding after it enclosed Romulo, and then the Adriatic Emblem created a translucent curtain to separate the two friends. Elena could see Romulo through the white wall and the pouring rain, but he could hardly see her. She slammed her fists upon the wall, but she could not break through; Romulo was now locked in battle with their surreptitious enemy.

               “You should be proud of yourself. I’ve heard stories of your skill! Some of my strongest conjurers couldn’t defeat you. Even when I let my strongest sorcerer loose, you managed to defeat it. Hell, you even caught it! That’s impressive. But let’s see if there’s anything you can do to stop me now,” the cloaked soldier said through the pouring rain.

               “Typhoon Paladin was yours? That is… interesting. Your name wouldn’t happen to be Neonia, would it?” asked Romulo.

               A shiver shot down Elena’s spine so suddenly that Romulo could practically sense it from inside the Adriatic Emblem. She glared at her enemy through the white walls, sensing a familiarity about the enemy even though she could not see him. She repeated the name several times quietly, feeling that her lips had whispered that word many times in the distant past.

               “That is correct. I am Adder Neonia – the captain of the conjurers sent to overthrow your fragile city. Consider this an honor. You made such a splash that I came out to fight you on my own! Prepare yourself to face my first sorcerer – the Spiritualist of the Deep Abyss,” Adder taunted.

               Adder Neonia unleashed a vortex of violet energy from his monolith. The beautiful light illuminated every falling raindrop and then converged to create a luminous silhouette. When the Spiritualist of the Deep Abyss finally took form, it stepped away from its monolith and glared through the pouring rain. Romulo watched as several spell cards fell to the rain-soaked ground, and for each one to fall, an unusual glow illuminated Adder. Even after the reaction ended, the glow remained. Adder grinned, passed a pair of cards to his Sorcerer, and then compelled it to quickly approach the center of the battlefield.

               Determined to fight back quickly and decisively, Romulo manifested his Ice Crystal Barricade and compelled it to advance. The massive wall of ice barreled across the battlefield with enough power to scrape rocks from the ground. Every falling raindrop struck the sorcerer and froze. Fog slowly lifted from its surface. Romulo then passed his Barricade a pair of cards, one of which it cast immediately.

               By harnessing the power of Stratospheric Transcendence, Romulo’s sorcerer summoned a powerful gust of wind to tear across the storm. Elena watched with a conflicted stare as the Ice Crystal Barricade managed to push itself forward, sailing with the wind and sliding its massive body across the empty street. Elena could feel the forceful vibration on the other side of the luminous wall, but she watched with concern. While Romulo had successfully blocked off the battlefield, he had also left himself exposed by being so aggressive.

               “Ice Crystal Barricade! Go now and attack his Spiritualist,” Romulo yelled out.

               “You know what to do! Cast your Spiritual Shield,” Adder shouted to his sorceress.

               The Ice Crystal Barricade swiped its tremendous arm of ice at its enemy, but the Spiritualist of the Deep Abyss defended herself with a sudden shield. The Spiritual Shield deflected the attack and practically devoured the energy behind it. Streams of ethereal energy then poured from the Spiritualist into Adder Neonia as he stood safely behind his monolith. Romulo and Elena both watched as their glowing enemy became even more luminous than before; they could both sense that he had acquired an energy that they did not understand.

               “When a conjurer becomes powerful enough, he can force the fabric of the universe to resonate in his favor. Streams of energy cross from darkness to light and manifest the Seraph of the Aether,” announced Adder Neonia as he held his left hand to the sky.

               Romulo watched with wide eyes as energetic streams spiraled across his enemy’s arm and converged to create a new monolith. Adder’s monolith had already entered a state of resonance, so he set this white monolith on the ground and conjured a new creature. The enchanting glow faded partially as Adder manifested his newest fighter.

               In the moment that the Seraph of the Aether appeared before Adder, it forced a glowing card to materialize in its hand. Adder gazed over the battlefield, passed a pair of cards to his sorcerer, and then compelled it to walk toward the towering wall of ice in the distance. While Romulo worked to wrap his head around the unusual manifestation, a flash of lightning shot across the stormy sky. Elena used the lightning to study the enemy’s face from a distance, and before the glow faded, she realized that she had certainly seen him before. She could feel her nervous system stumble toward some reaction, but she still did not know where she had seen him.

               “Spiritualist! Empower yourself and your ally! This is the time to cast Soul Territory,” Adder commanded.

               Quickly realizing the threat this posed, Romulo dove into his grimoire and swiftly searched for a handy spell. But because he was still out of reach, he had no way to retaliate when the Spiritualist of the Deep Abyss struck a decisive blow. By attacking with ethereal whips of enchanted water, she struck the Barricade with enough force to send fractures across its icy flesh. Adder then compelled his Seraph of the Aether to advance while his Spiritualist stepped aside. By enchanting the air beneath its wings, the Seraph fiercely struck the Ice Crystal Barricade.

               In realizing the extent of his disadvantage, Romulo compelled his Barricade to go on the attack. He forced it to cast Trade Power for Strength, enchanting it with a fearsome strength. But when Romulo’s sorcerer finally swung its arm at its enemy, the Seraph of the Aether cast a powerful spell of its own.

               By using the magic of its spell card and draining some light from Adder Neonia, the Seraph of the Aether unleashed a whirlwind so powerful that it overwhelmed Ice Crystal Barricade. The extraordinary vortex stripped debris from the street and devoured every falling raindrop; it voided the Barricade’s attack and even lifted it off the ground. The ice wall partially fractured from the pressure of entering the air, and Romulo watched with horror as his creature then fell to the ground far away from him. He was now practically defenseless.

               However, Romulo felt that he had invested too much magic into his sorcerer to just let it fall now. So by sacrificing his stamina, he struck his green monolith with a hammer and forced it to resonate. With a sudden burst of emerald energy, Romulo manifested his Dancing Wind Priestess while forcing his Barricade to retreat. He then passed a pair of cards to his sorceress as he fought to catch his breath, and then he commanded his sorcerers to meet near their enemies. While fighting to stay upright, Romulo compelled his Dancing Wind Priestess to pass a card to his Ice Crystal Barricade. She then struck the Seraph of the Aether in a cyclonic strike before retreating to the space in front of the living ice wall.

               In that moment, Adder realized the brilliance of his enemy’s design. The Dancing Wind Priestess surrounded herself with a powerful whirlwind which would deter any attacker, but she had parked herself protectively in front of her ally. And because the Ice Crystal Barricade formed a large ice wall across the battlefield, the enemy sorcerers had no way to go on the attack.

               But instead of attacking, Adder compelled his Seraph of the Aether to retreat back into his vicinity. Despite the forceful winds and the rain which poured around him, Adder passed three cards to his sorcerer. It then flew forward and unleashed the magic of a spell to which it was entrusted. This spell spurred a forceful vortex that merely intensified the surrounding storm. Adder called out, “Invoke the Whirlwind! Blow back the Barricade!”

               When the cyclonic winds strengthened, they forced the cobblestone street to tremble; loose stones clacked against each other while others lifted into the air. The extraordinary winds pressed upon the massive ice wall and even pressed it backward; they overpowered Dancing Wind Priestess’ protective gust. The Ice Crystal Barricade partially fractured when it landed upon the cobblestone street, and then the Spiritualist of the Deep Abyss rapidly lunged forward. By Adder’s command, she violently struck Romulo’s sorcerer while enchanted by the spiritual magic all around her. She attacked with enough force to shatter the ice wall, and Romulo watched as his living shield collapsed in a shower of ice shards. Flakes of snow and ice danced in the air, fighting to withstand the falling rain. And in the next moment, both the Seraph and Spiritualist advanced. Romulo watched with concern as his enemy’s sorceress stepped dangerously close to his resonating monolith.

               “You should consider it an honor that I’m attacking so aggressively. You’re too powerful an opponent to give any slack. Seraph! Start your combo! Unleash your Aethereal Surge!” yelled Adder.

               By Adder’s compulsion, the Seraph of the Aether then unleashed a powerful spell which sent streams of white energy across the battlefield. The glow illuminated every dancing raindrop as it surged into both conjurers, enchanting them both with a bright light. Both Elena and Romulo watched as he acquired the same mythical light as his enemy, although the light which embraced him was far dimmer than Adder’s. However, Romulo realized with a grimace that the Seraph of the Aether clenched another spell. He braced himself and glared forward as a flash of lightning coursed through the dark clouds.

               As soon as the Seraph’s spell took effect, Romulo felt a surge of pain course through his body. He nearly dropped to his knees as an energetic stream of white plasma poured from his body and surged toward his enemy. Elena shouted and slammed her fists against the Adriatic Emblem, but she failed to break through; she was forced to watch as Adder Neonia pilfered the power which had enchanted Romulo. When the transference ended, the glow had completely faded from Romulo’s body. Adder, on the other hand, now illuminated the rainstorm with a brighter energy than ever before. Elena could tell with one glance that Romulo did not have the strength to manifest another sorcerer, so instead he sifted slowly through his spell cards.

               “That monolith kinda came from nowhere… but that doesn’t mean it can take a hit. He’s already weak. Take it out, Priestess,” Romulo muttered as he compelled his sorcerer to race across the alleyway.

               When the Dancing Wind Priestess struck the white monolith and shattered it, breaking its bond with Seraph of the Aether, Adder glared at his enemy and asked, “Why are you ignoring me? I was told by my men that you fight with honor.”

               As he fought to catch his breath, Romulo retorted, “I fight with honor because my other opponents are pawns. Puppets. They’re not evil, at least not all of ‘em. They’re just doing your bidding. Far as I’m concerned, you’re the one attacking harmless cities. You’re the one hurting innocent people. You’re the cause. You’re the villain. You could end this onslaught with a wave of your hand, but instead you’d rather hurt people who just wanna live in peace.”

               With an amused stare and a boisterous laugh, Adder asked, “Is that really your reason? That’s just so dreadfully boring. I expected better of you! Here my men have hyped you to be some brilliant tactician, but you’re just like any other enemy I’ve ever crushed. Just some poor sap with a bleeding heart, spouting tired rhetoric like he’s all righteous. I really thought you were different! Such a shame. You’re just an above-average conjurer… and that’s it. There’s nothing interesting about you.”

               In that moment, Adder compelled his sorceress to strike Romulo’s green monolith with a full-force strike. The glowing water scoured the monolith and nearly broke the connection, but Dancing Wind Priestess remained intact. Romulo then commanded her to race across the battlefield and directly strike the Spiritualist, but the enemy sorceress effortlessly withstood the attack. And with a forceful onslaught of luminous water, Adder defeated and shattered the Dancing Wind Priestess. Romulo was left completely defenseless, staring down his enemy’s sorceress as thunder shook the storming sky.

               “You’ve been a massive disappointment. Go ahead and use my own sorcerer against me. It’s nothing I don’t see coming, but that’s just the theme of this whole encounter,” Adder taunted.

               Romulo grumbled and reached for his black monolith, knowing that only his Typhoon Paladin could save him from this predicament. He sighed, cursed himself for getting backed into this corner in the first place, and then struck his monolith with a small hammer. A vortex of black energy emerged from his monolith and cast a gentle darkness across the rain.

               At the same time that a web of purple lightning shot across the clouds, an electric glow illuminated from inside the vortex of black energy. The Typhoon Paladin materialized in the heart of the storm, and after receiving three spell cards from Romulo, it unleashed a thunderous punch directly upon the Spiritualist of the Deep Abyss. Adder Neonia watched with intrigue, noting that Romulo had not bothered to pass spells to his Priestess even when she needed it most. He concluded that his enemy had invested everything into this one sorcerer. Directly after the attack, the Typhoon Paladin raced across the battlefield and thundered toward Adder.

               The Adriatic warrior did not even bother to attempt attacking his enemy’s monolith; he instead compelled his Spiritualist to race across the luminous battlefield. Though the Soul Territory enchanted his sorceress with a speed boost, she still could not catch up to Typhoon Paladin. Romulo commanded his sorcerer to sidestep the Spiritualist and then strike her monolith with a luminous punch. He struck with enough force to sever the connection, and then the Spiritualist of the Deep Abyss shattered and faded.

               “Ringmaster of the Wildfire, go forth and strike him down,” Adder commanded as a shower of red light forced every raindrop to shimmer. The storm itself seemed to reflect the crimson glow.

               A fiery glow illuminated the rainstorm as a new sorcerer materialized. Even though rain poured from the sky above and left puddles upon the street, this water could not suppress the sparks which danced around the Ringmaster of the Wildfire. Adder excitedly passed a pair of cards to his newest sorcerer, and then he compelled the Ringmaster to unleash one immediately. The sorcerer unleashed the magic of the spell card in his hand, preparing to engulf his enemy in a searing stream of fire.

               “Typhoon Paladin! Save yourself! Invoke your Icy Imprisonment,” Romulo commanded.

               As soon as the Ringmaster of the Wildfire ignited his fiery stream, Typhoon Paladin shut it down and froze the spell with chilling magic. However, this powerful spell caused the ice to devour its own caster’s limbs, leaving him vulnerable and open to attack. Adder commanded his sorcerer to strike, and then in a flurry of flashing sparks which evaporated the falling rain, the Ringmaster unleashed an incendiary strike directly upon the enemy. The high-temperature strike assailed Romulo’s sorcerer, but it failed to melt the ice which held it back. But as if that weren’t enough, Adder Neonia set his unused monoliths on the ground beneath his feet.

               “I almost have enough strength! Lend me your power, my sorcerers. Ringmaster! Unleash the Advanced Art of Aether!” Adder announced as his sorcerer steadied the spell card in his hand.

               In that moment, a divine-looking fire ignited every monolith around Adder Neonia’s feet. The white fire scoured his monoliths, even the blue and green ones which had already been used, unleashing streams of heavenly energy which then poured directly into the Adriatic warrior. Romulo watched with shock as his enemy became more luminous than the lightning which shot across the sky. Elena angrily banged her arms against the white wall of the Adriatic Emblem, certain that Adder would soon unleash another monstrosity. And as if to confirm her fears, Adder forced two spirals of luminous energy to race across his arms; they converged at a point in the space between his hands. Every falling raindrop became a tiny shard of white light as the Adriatic Warrior forced another monolith to converge between his hands.

               Adder asked, “Have you ever stopped to ask why it is that we are able to manifest sorcerers? We all have no magic. We have no power. And yet we can summon entities who wield a fearsome sorcery to fight for us. Have you ever asked yourself why?”

               Trying to conceal his terror with a joke, Romulo chuckled and answered, “Of course not! I’m really not the brightest; I’ll never understand how a vibrating rock can manifest anything. But it doesn’t matter to me!”

               “I think most of our enemies are that same way. Heh, you get a little speck of power and think that you’re in control even if you don’t understand why. But in the end, that will be the reason for your downfall. You don’t have the intelligence to put up a real fight. You weren’t around when we shattered the past and forged a new future; you’re fuel at best. A roadblock at worst. And now it’s time to see the instrument of your downfall – my Apothecary of Enchanted Aether,” Adder announced across the violent storm.

               After materializing the monolith in his hand, Adder unleashed his Apothecary of Enchanted Aether onto the battlefield. He manifested an entity which surrounded itself with the shadow of the fallen Spiritualist, and then it attacked with a spiral of enchanted water. The attack sent fractures across Typhoon Paladin’s armor and nearly knocked it to the ground. Adder then compelled his two sorcerers to race toward the center of the alleyway, standing in the luminous safety of Soul Territory. Once there, the Ringmaster of the Wildfire unleashed a swirling vortex of fire. Romulo watched with worry as the flames surrounded his Typhoon Paladin, but to his surprise, his sorcerer still stood when the searing cinders fell. Sparks danced through the air and illuminated the rain around him, but Typhoon Paladin narrowly clung to life. Steam lifted from his skin.

               Though Romulo felt like he was at the end of the line, Elena slammed her fists upon the glowing wall and yelled, “You can pull your way out of this! I know you can. I know you will! This world is a sick dream, but at least you can steer a dream when you know you’re in control.”

               “Steer the dream…? Elena, what makes you think this isn’t real?” asked Romulo as he reached for his red monolith.

               “I know why he looks so familiar. This sounds like it’s not real because this world isn’t real, but… I saw Adder in a dream of a different world. He wasn’t a heartless warrior like this. He was a good man with a good heart, so either this isn’t real or that wasn’t real. It’s too much of a coincidence if it’s anything else! So control this dream or at least wake up!” Elena shouted from the other end of the Adriatic Emblem.

               But Romulo shook his head and muttered, “I’m sorry, Elena… but I don’t know what you’re talking about. This is real, I promise you. And there’s only one way I can save myself.”

               Romulo unleashed the power of his monolith by releasing a sudden vortex of crimson light. He set the monolith on the ground and watched the red energy converge to manifest his sorcerer. When he manifested his Alchemist of Astroconvergence, the otherworldly sorcerer forced a spell card to materialize in his right hand. Romulo narrowed his eyes and saw that the card was a Berserk Heart, which meant he still had a chance to win this brutal fight.

               “Alchemist of Astroconvergence, advance on the enemy; get in position! Typhoon Paladin, unleash your magic! Dance of the Fiery Gust!”

               Romulo compelled his Typhoon Paladin to run toward the other sorcerers. He imagined commanding his strongest sorcerer to strike both enemies, and then he would enchant it with the Berserk Heart so that it could attack again. Between that and the Alchemist, Romulo figured that he could crush his enemy in one fell swoop. But when Typhoon Paladin pushed its way closer, Romulo realized that it could barely move without collapsing under its own weight. The Apothecary of Enchanted Aether watched the enemy approach, and as soon as it came too close, the enemy sorcerer unleashed its vile spell.

               Romulo watched as a sudden alchemic burst engulfed his Typhoon Paladin and vanquished it at once. The sorcerer shattered, and the black monolith finally stopped vibrating; all the spells it carried fell to the ground beneath the pouring rain. Romulo fell to his knees as he realized that he had no way out. He watched his enemy’s sorcerers advance, but he cursed a quiet lamentation to his own failure.

               “I was supposed to protect this city. It can’t end like this,” Romulo whispered.

               Elena’s shouts became increasingly frantic as she slammed her fists against the luminous wall. But when she watched Adder’s sorcerers overwhelm Romulo’s Alchemist, she felt her adrenaline surge. Sweat covered her skin and rain soaked her hair. Her muscles flexed with power as she shouted and punched. Steam lifted from her body in this violent state of panic. With a sky-piercing shout, Elena punched the wall with more force than ever before; her fist broke through the barrier as her pegleg fell out from underneath her. She landed on her arms on the cobblestone street with a painful slam, but she ignored her bleeding wounds and crawled closer to her friend. Both Romulo and Adder watched with shock; they had never seen anyone or anything break the Adriatic Emblem.

               “Just conjure something and run! Let’s just run away together. This city isn’t worth your life!” Elena shouted at Romulo.

               But Adder retorted from across the storm, “You misunderstand my intentions. I could conquer this city in a matter of hours; this city is a benefit but not my priority. All I really want now is to take out Romulo Soliatsis. No one else has the power to oppose me.”

               But when Romulo tried to stand upright, his legs nearly collapsed under him; he retreated back to a crouch on his hands and knees. Between running for hours and manifesting his sorcerers, Romulo did not have the energy to run. Instead, he weakly grabbed the nearby cards which had drifted downstream from the puddles. He then grabbed three monoliths – all except the blue one which was too far away – and pushed them toward Elena.

               Romulo whispered to Elena, “You have to protect them because no one else can. I know I have no right to ask this of you, but-”

               “No, shut up! Shut the fuck up! You’re not dying, Romulo! I won’t let you. I’ll put myself in the way before I let that happen! I don’t know if this world is real, but… if it isn’t a nightmare, then it’s just a shattered future. Something you shouldn’t die to defend! Please, just run away from here. You’re the only thing I have. You’re the only one I care about! You can’t just let them kill you,” Elena begged.

               But just by the fiery glow which illuminated the rain, Elena realized that the enemy was close. She swerved around and yelped when she saw Adder and his two sorcerers just a short distance away, ready to attack at a moment’s notice. But when Adder saw Elena’s face, he tilted his head and pursed his lips. He even took a half step backward and stared at Elena as if in a trance.

               Adder Neonia announced, “If you were anyone else, I would tell you it’s too late. I would kill you both in cold blood and leave it at that. It’s only because of our past that I will let you live just this once. Just make sure it’s the last, Elena. This time is the last.”

               Elena gasped as she realized that he recognized her, but then Adder stepped closer and grabbed hold of Romulo’s shirt collar. Romulo groaned, and Elena yelped; she threw her arms at her enemy in distress. But before she could even strike him, the Apothecary of Enchanted Aether seized her arms and effortlessly restrained her. Elena wriggled and wrestled but failed to free herself; her half-detached pegleg scraped uselessly against the cobblestone. The Ringmaster of the Wildfire glared disdainfully as Adder lifted Romulo into the air, and then he walked away. Romulo winced with pain and coughed out a word of farewell, but Elena could barely hear him over the pouring rain and rumbling thunder. She could barely hear him over the sound of her own screaming.

               After Adder turned down a different street and went so far that Elena could not see him, the Apothecary of Enchanted Aether dematerialized. Elena sobbed and shook in the pouring rain as she quickly collected Romulo’s belongings, but she still could not stand upright. After many minutes of trying, she realized that her half-detached prosthetic did more harm than good. She detached the pegleg from her leg, used a brick wall to pull herself upright, and then hopped on one leg across the cobblestone street. She chased her enemy by hopping through the roaring storm, following a faint trail of blood in an attempt to find her friend. She winced with every step, and before long, her left knee ached from the impact of each step. The pain and the panic brought her to tears, but she pushed herself forward for minutes. Even when she slipped and fell to the ground, she would slowly pull herself upright.

In the end, Elena spent hours trying to crawl and hobble along the blood trail, but when she finally reached its end, she saw that it led to Aegea’s town square. She saw the silhouette of a circle atop a wooden pole, and a few other citizens stood beside it beneath the pouring rain. Elena felt her ice turn cold as she pushed herself closer, and when a flash of lightning illuminated the sky, she saw the head of her friend placed upon a pike. Romulo’s blood stained the upper half of the pike, and red-tinged water splashed along the puddle below. Elena felt her entire body turn cold at once, and she dropped to the ground and spilled her belongings. She stared into Romulo’s lifeless eyes as the flash of lightning finally faded. She saw his auburn hair dance limply in the wind.

Though she could feel her body surrender to exhaustion, Elena whispered a promise to her fallen friend, “I swear I’ll make him pay for what he did. He should have killed me when he had the chance.”