[Kara] Chapter 25: Guardian of Alyona (Patreon)

“Dark Lord Koros!” Tashia shouted as she sprinted through the empty tower.

She had searched every single room for him. But she couldn’t find him anywhere. Not even in his office.

It was strange. She thought he would have joined the battle by now. However, even as the sleepwalker reached the city, he was nowhere to be found.

The Captain of the Second Company paused by a window as she felt the ground shake. Looking up, she saw the sleepwalker open a massive hole through the barrier. Thousands upon thousands of nightmares poured through and entered the Sanctuary City. And nothing could stop them.

They swarmed the houses and the streets. Their screeches mixed with the screams of terrified civilians being cut down en masse. Tashia gritted her teeth. She almost wanted to run back out to join the battle.

But then she heard a familiar voice coming from a nearby doorway. She spun around and dashed forward as she called out.

“Dark Lord—”

She started as she reached the doorway. But then she paused when she saw that it was cracked open. Peeking in, she saw Koros standing inside with another figure.

“Thank you, Architect Magus Uzbug,” the Dark Lord said as he accepted a scroll from the ant-person. “You have served me well. But now, you know what to do.”

Uzbug’s antennae twitched, sending a response that only Koros could hear. Tashia blinked as she watched this strange interaction. She almost felt like she saw something she wasn’t supposed to see, and she wanted to back away.

But the Dark Lord turned towards her with a smile on his face.

“Captain Tashia.”

She blinked and straightened. Architect Magus Uzbug excused herself from the room as Koros walked up to the Captain of the Second Company.

“Do you need something from me?” he asked simply.

As if the Sanctuary City of Alyona wasn’t in the middle of a terrible siege. She straightened and saluted him.

“Dark Lord, Alyona is in need of your strength.” She looked him up and down, seeing how he wasn’t even wearing his armor yet. His helmet was to his side, and he looked unnervingly calm. “I— what were you doing, Dark Lord?”

Koros tilted his head back, before shrugging. “I am saying my goodbyes to my city. That is all.”

“...what?” Tashia asked, completely befuddled by what he said.

But he didn’t elaborate. Instead, he placed a hand on her shoulder as he held her gaze. “Captain Tashia. I have a task for you.”

And she listened as her eyes grew wide.

—--

Kara watched as the massive monster’s tendrils struck the walls of the city. She stared as dozens of soldiers flew into the air from the attack, their battered corpses raining back down into the streets. But she spotted someone she recognized even amidst the flying rubble and bodies.

“That’s— Caius!” she exclaimed, watching as the elf’s bloodied figure crashed into a building.

She gritted her teeth, before glancing up towards the swarms of nightmares pouring into the city. They made their way past the walls and ignored the soldiers. Arrows and spells shot up towards them, shooting some of them down from the cave ceiling. But many more of them managed to continue on and swoop down into the fleeing crowds, causing a massacre,

Kara glanced between the swarms of shadowed creatures spreading throughout the city, before looking towards where Caius had fallen. She hesitated as she considered her options.

And then she felt the ground shake. Her brows furrowed as she thought that the massive monster had done something again. But when she looked towards the city walls, all she saw was Dhofruid’s battleaxe flying up and cutting apart its tendrils. Another blast of lightning from Xhrkr’s kept it back from fully entering Alyona.

“What was that?” Kara blinked as she felt the ground rumbling again.

She slowly swept her gaze over her shoulders, towards the source of the source of the tremor. And her eyes grew wide when she saw the statue standing in the middle of Sentinel Square begin to move.

Finally, she realized what was going on as her eyes darted towards the main tower of Alyona’s walls.

“The Keys of Azad!”

—--

Hayder stood in the middle of the vault with his eyes closed, clutching an ornate keyring to his chest with his right hand. There were four keys attached to the ring, and each one glimmered with a bright light. With his left hand, he brought the first key up to the top of the ring and kissed it with his lips.

“Azad the Guardian of Alyona,” he whispered as the first key’s light flashed, before dimming.

He released the first key, letting it drop back down as its light vanished. He brought the second key up to his mouth and repeated the same gesture.

“You who were tamed by Dark Lady Alyona herself,” he continued softly. “You who dedicated your soul to protect her being.”

He felt his heart hammering in his chest as his eyes began to open. But he didn’t see the vault around him. Instead, he saw Sentinel Square expanding far beneath him.

And he raised his head as he brought the third key to his lips.

“I pray for your eyes to be opened, and for your soul to become one with mine.”

Three of the keys were now black. And the last he clutched tightly, before kissing it as well.

“I awaken you, Azad, to save Alyona once more!”

With that, the last key dimmed. Before Hayder felt his control over his body vanish. And the statue of Azad rose to its feet…

—--

“Holy hell…” Kara whispered, watching the giant statue lumber forward. “So that is Azad.”

It stood at over five hundred feet tall. But it couldn’t even rise up to its full height. Despite being hunched over, its back scraped the top of the ceiling and knocked down the stalactites hanging overhead.

It looked like the golems that Kara had seen wandering the Xor-In Mountains during a magical storm. Sculpted to look like a person, except with a face like a helmet. It strode forward and crushed entire buildings underneath its feet. But it was careful to avoid the crowded streets.

Kara watched as it brought a hand out, aiming at the swarms of nightmares. There was a glimmer of light, before a spell circle came to life and unleashed a powerful white blast. Hundreds of nightmares were wiped out from the single attack. But Azad wasn’t finished. It aimed the attack towards the massive monster tearing open the magical dome.

And the blast landed as a deafening shriek echoed.

The massive monster recoiled from the blast, releasing some of its grip over the magical dome. The barrier began to partially reform as Azad continued to stride forward towards the walls of the city. The two giants focused their gazes onto each other.

And Kara’s gaze was drawn back towards a cacophony of shouting voices. Blinking, she stared at a horde of green pouring down the streets and charging down Sentinel Square.

“Kill those bloody nightmares!” a fat orc yelled, leading the charge with a curved blade.

“Those are…?” Kara narrowed her eyes as the orcs made their way past the fleeing crowds and struck down every single nightmare in their way.

Zlo’tan stepped up next to her. “This one believes those are the orc clans. They appear to finally be joining the battle.”

Kara stared as the horde of green moved swiftly and savagely, cutting down the nightmares almost efficiently. She almost thought she spotted a few familiar orcs amongst their number. But she focused on the matter at hand and looked towards Azad as it clashed with the massive monster at the walls of the city. And finally, her gaze landed where Caius had fallen.

She pursed her lips. Before she felt a hand lightly touch her shoulder.

“This one believes you should save your friend,” Zlo’tan said, bowing his head. “This one will stay here and deal with any nightmares attacking the civilians.”

Kara blinked a few times. But the minotaur held her gaze. And slowly, she nodded.

“Right. Thank you.”

She smiled back gratefully at Zlo’tan, before she broke off. Kara sprinted down a nearby alleyway and made her way towards where she had last seen the elf.

As she did, the fighting all across the Sanctuary City raged on.

—--

Hayder looked through the eyes of Azad as he lay in Alyona’s vault. He couldn’t feel his body. He couldn’t see his own surroundings. But he knew that he was safe as long as the main tower didn’t fall.

So he moved. Not as himself. Not as the Captain of the First Company of Alyona. But instead, he moved as the Guardian of Alyona.

He moved as Azad.

He lowered his hand as the beam of light dissipated, and the sleepwalker drew back. That attack had exhausted an incredible amount of mana from Hayder’s manacore. It was not something he wanted to do again.

Even though he was using Azad to fight, its spells were partially drawn from him as well. And if he overexerted himself, he could end up killing himself through sheer exhaustion. This was normally impossible if he was fighting as himself, because he would pass out before that could happen. However, as Azad, he was never going to lose consciousness, until he returned to his own body.

So he looked up at the sleepwalker as it lost chunks of its body from the attack. Its eyes were now shut, and it was floating in place, trying to regain its bearings. While it was distracted, he threw a punch that sent the massive monster reeling, before it lashed out with its own tendrils. Hayder himself reeled as bits of Azad’s stone body was cut open.

Blood spilled across the floor of the vault. But Hayder ignored the stinging pain. He looked up as Azad and grabbed the sleepwalker by the tendrils. He pulled it closer and gave it a powerful headbutt.

The massive monster screeched. And the two giants continued to trade blows. Even though Azad was slightly smaller than the sleepwalker, Hayder was able to put up a good fight. In fact, he thought he was starting to get the upper hand.

But the sleepwalker opened its single eye once more. Hayder paused as he saw a purple sphere began to form there, aiming at the stone golem. He brought Azad’s hands together to block the attack.

Only for a battleaxe shot through the air, striking the sleepwalker from the side. It hissed and turned to face a dwarf standing atop the battlements.

“Oi, I’m your enemy, ye ugly beast!” Warlord Dhofruid shouted as his battleaxe returned to his hands.

Hayder paused when he spotted the dwarf standing there.

“Dhofruid… what are you doing?” he asked, but his question was heard by no one.

The dwarven warlord threw his axe again as it multiplied mid-air into dozens of magical replicas, flying straight at the sleepwalker. It blocked the attack with its tendrils, before unleashing the purple beam straight at him.

He hopped off the tower as it was completely obliterated. Rolling to a stop atop the nearby battlements, he turned to Azad and shook a fist.

“Do something, ye useless boy! Don’t just stare like an idiot— I’m distracting that thing for ye!”

And Hayder realized what Dhofruid was doing. He looked down at Azad’s hand, before watching a spell circle flash there. But Hayder wasn’t finished. He brought up Azad’s other hand as another spell circle shimmered too.

He brought both of Azad’s hands together and aimed at the sleepwalker.

It continued to unleash an onslaught of attacks at the dwarven warlord, before a pillar of ice shot up, freezing its tendrils. High Magus Xhrkr lowered her staff as her spell held the sleepwalker in place for a moment and nodded at Azad.

“I don’t care if this kills me,” Hayder whispered as the spell circles merged as the sleepwalker tried to break itself free. “But I will kill you, monster!”

He shouted as a massive beam of white light blasted out and completely engulfed the sleepwalker. The attack shot up into the night sky, clearing the clouds to reveal the twin moons overhead.

Hayder felt his manacore draining— even moreso than when he was trapped in an antimagic zone. He felt the strength threatening to leave his body, and his vision through Azad’s eyes blurred. The giant golem collapsed to one knee as the blast began to dissipate.

Somehow, Hayder was still alive. He didn’t know how he hadn’t died yet. He wanted to laugh. He wanted to cry. His entire body— his real body— ached terribly.

And he almost felt his consciousness fading. But he forced himself to stay awake as he stared up at the clearing smoke.

“What do you think of that—” he started.

Before he froze. He looked up and he couldn’t believe his eyes. Even Warlord Dhofruid came to a halt, nearly dropping his axe as he stared up into the night sky. High Magus Xhrkr too backed away and looked up with wide eyes.

The sleepwalker floated there, massive chunks of its body were gone, but it was still alive. Its eye was snapped open as a purple sphere began to coalesce, aimed directly at Azad.

Hayder took in a deep breath as he saw the purple glint. And then he lowered his head as he let out a bitter laugh.

“It seems I have failed, huh?” he said, watching the blast shoot his way. “Even though I am supposed to protect Alyona, I have failed. I just wish I told Tashia…”

His voice trailed off. And another voice echoed in the night.

“Forty-Second Core: The Slash That Can Fell A Mountain.”

A blade shot up, cutting straight through the beam and slashing through the bottom half of the sleepwalker. The massive monster let out a pained shriek as a figure walked up alongside Azad’s kneeling figure.

Hayder blinked a few times as he looked down at the figure coming to a halt atop the rubble of a fallen tower. He recognized the helmet. The billowing cloak. The sheening blade that was blacker than even the night sky.

Warlord Dhofruid and High Magus Xhkrkr also gaped at this figure as he sheathed his sword.

“You have done well, Hayder,” the figure said, his voice booming into the night. “But now I shall take over.”

Hayder stared in shock as he saw who it was. “Dark Lord Koros…?”

And Koros pointed at the sleepwalker.

“Fortieth Core: Black Fireblast.”

A blast of flames shot up, blanketing the night sky in darkness.

—--

Kara dug through the rubble as she cursed under her breath. She didn’t even glance back when she sensed the intense blast of magic taking the sky. Her focused was fixed only on one thing— finding her friend.

She pushed aside a large chunk of stone, before her eyes went wide.

“Caius!” she shouted as she saw the elf’s body lying there.

His bones were broken, and he was covered in blood. She thought he was dead at first. But then she saw his chest rising softly. He was still breathing. And she sighed in relief.

“Come on,” Kara said, pulling him out of the rubble. “You can’t die here.”

She unhooked a vial she had on her belt. It was the healing potion Bushra had given her after she left the lower tunnels. Uncorking it, she poured the red liquid into the elf’s mouth.

He didn’t react, even as he gulped it down slowly. Kara pursed his lips and began to pour it onto his wounds. Finally, she watched as his bones mended, and most of his cuts knitted shut.

The elf’s eyes fluttered open after lying there for a long moment.

“...of course I’m still alive,” he muttered.

And Kara let out a breath she hadn’t known she’d been holding. “You scared me. I thought you died.”

“I thought I died too,” Caius snorted as he sat up. “But I should’ve known Adam wouldn’t let his monsters kill me.”

Kara blinked. “What do you mean by that?”

But before Caius could answer, another explosion took the night sky. Kara glanced back as the elf narrowed his eyes. A brilliant black blast engulfed the massive monster as it screeched. The shockwave even wiped out the nearby swarms of nightmares, stopping them from entering the city.

“Koros has finally taken the field, huh?” Caius tried to force himself to his feet. “That sleepwalker doesn’t stand a chance against him— urk.”

“Caius—” Kara steadied the elf.

He grimaced, almost collapsing back to his knees. But she held him up. He closed his eyes as the fighting continued in the background.

“I don’t think I can walk, Kara…”

“I’ll help you.” She lifted him up over her shoulders, practically giving him a piggyback-ride.

He flushed as he lowered his head. “I feel like I’d honestly rather lie here and die.”

“Oh, stop complaining…”

And the two of them began to make their way away from the walls of the city as the sleepwalker’s shrieks echoed in the distance.

—--

“Thirty-Seventh Core: Black Fireball.”

Koros pointed and unleashed a black sphere into the sleepwalker. The blast was smaller than his Black Fireblast, but even through the eyes of Azad, Hayder couldn’t help but gape in awe of the immense power.

The explosion ripped apart a large chunk from the massive monster. But it still remained floating, despite the powerful attack.

The Dark Lord of Alyona lowered his hand as he gritted his teeth.

Hayder wondered how it was possible for the sleepwalker to still be alive even after all the damage it had taken. He wondered if it was even possible to bring it down. Because even now, it was desperately trying to crawl back through the barrier and keep the hole open.

But Koros seemed to have a plan in mind as he craned his neck to face Azad.

“Captain Hayder,” the Dark Lord said through his masked voice. “I apologize for asking for your help even after all you’ve put yourself through. But I need you to distract the sleepwalker for just a minute.”

Hayder paused for a moment, hearing Koros’s voice through the giant golem. And slowly, he nodded.

“I will do what I can, Dark Lord.” He strained himself as Azad nodded.

“Thank you,” Koros said gratefully as he leapt back.

The sleepwalker lashed out with its tendrils, ripping through the rubble of the city’s walls. But the attack missed, and Azad reached out to catch the tendrils. He yanked the massive monster towards him. But the tendrils tore open.

Hayder watched as the sleepwalker drew back, regrowing its tendrils.

Is that how it’s still alive? he wondered as he tossed aside the ripped tendrils.

He made Azad rise up to its feet, and Koros muttered behind the rubble.

“Fiftieth Core Unleashed.”

The Dark Lord whispered as he brought his sword up to his chest.

“The Flames That Come From The Fallen Stars. Behold The Blackened Sky—”

A black magic circle appeared in the sky, beneath the eddying clouds. The sleepwalker lashed out at Azad, its tendrils piercing into the golem’s stomach. Hayder recoiled as he felt the searing pain, but reached out and grabbed the massive monster by its body.

He dragged it to the ground and smashed it with both his fists. The Dark Lord’s chanting continued as he continued pummeling it.

“Scar The World And Blaze Bright— The Wrath Of The Gods That Died.”

And as Koros finished, Hayder threw Azad back towards the city walls. The sleepwalker tried to pick itself up, but the spell circle flashed.

“Dragonflame Of Hell.”

Before a pillar of black flames shot down from the sky. And it was a blast that was seen all throughout the city.

—--

Kara paused as she was walking down a narrow alleyway with Caius on her back. She blinked a few times, sensing the immense amount of mana being unleashed.

Even from where she stood, she could feel the intense heat— a fire that burned far hotter than even her own. She didn’t need to glance back to know just how powerful this attack had been, let alone who it was from.

“Good thing Koros is a reasonable man, huh?”

She remembered the time she almost got into a fight with him when she first arrived in Alyona, before shaking her head and continuing on.

—--

Kurg stumbled back as a nightmare’s claws grazed against his shoulders. He felt his manacore ache at that mere scratch. His strength drained from his body, and he took a knee. The nightmare hissed and swung at his head as he could only brace himself for his demise.

But before it could reach him, it was grabbed by the tail. The nightmare spun around and faced a towering orc standing behind it.

Elder Klogg raised his massive fist. He needed no spiked knuckles. He punched once, and the nightmare evaporated. He walked up to his son and offered a hand.

“Come, my son. Are you alright?”

“Father?” Kurg asked, taken aback. “What are you doing here—”

But before he could finish his question, there was a powerful explosion— a pillar of black flames covering the night sky up ahead. The other gathered orcs looked on in awe with him, some of them nearly dropping their weapons, as they all stared at this scene.

The Elder of the Swordtooth Clan was the first to break away from this sight. He nodded back down at his son.

“No father shall ever dishonor himself by letting his son do his fighting for him,” Klogg said simply.

He strode forward as the orc clans continued to cut down the nightmares that leaked into the city.

—--

Even back at the very edge of the upper tunnels, right before the back barrier, amidst a large crowd of clamoring civilians, Arjin was able to see the black light from the blast. Her eyes flickered as she was able to feel the overwhelming power. She felt her fingers tremble, and her legs shake. But that was not a reaction out of fear.

She stood still as she stared into the distance, in complete awe of this show of force. Dammir placed a hand on her shoulder and nodded at her reassuringly.

“Dead scales, that’s Dark Lord Koros, for ye…” the dwarf said.

And next to them, Angel whined worriedly.

All around the trio, the gathered civilians moved in an orderly fashion, listening to a dark elf woman— a captain, maybe— shout orders at them with a few hundred soldiers and an ant person by her side.

—--

The Dark Lord’s attack completely engulfed the sleepwalker as it screeched. Even through Azad, Hayder could feel the intense heat. And as he watched the inferno continue to blaze, he was just glad the attack was unleashed outside of the city.

The entire refugee camp that had once been caught in the perimeter of the blast— all its tents and the bodies that had once been there were completely incinerated as well. All the nearby nightmares were also caught in the blast.

Everything was wiped out. Hayder was certain this time that nothing could have survived the blast.

And he was right.

As the inferno slowly faded away, he saw nothing there. The sleepwalker was gone. The swarming nightmares had stopped.

“Amazing…” Hayder whispered.

Warlord Dhofruid and High Magus Xhrkr appeared next to the Dark Lord’s side as he lowered his sword. The barrier of the Sanctuary City began to restore itself as nothing else clamored to tear it open. A few thousand nightmares continued to streak through the ceiling of the cavern, still trying to target the civilians.

But they weren’t enough to pose a threat to wipe out Alyona any longer. They could be eradicated with relative ease.

Hayder closed his eyes as Azad, before reopening them as himself. He coughed out a handful of blood, but he steeled himself. He grabbed a healing potion he had at his side and chugged it, before he exited the vault. He found Dark Lord Koros standing without his helmet as he spoke to the Captains of the Eight Company and the Tenth Company, the three of them standing before Azad’s feet.

He hobbled over to them weakly as he laughed.

“You did it, Dark Lord!” he called out, and Koros turned to face him. “We won!”

“It is not over yet, Captain Hayder,” the Dark Lord said as he swept his gaze over the rubble. “Most of the towers have been destroyed, and only half the walls remain standing. The Sixth Company, the Seventh Company, and the Ninth Company have been completely wiped out. And every surviving company has sustained significant casualties as well.”

Hayder laughed triumphantly as he gestured at where the sleepwalker had been. “But we won. We defeated the nightmares!”

Even as he spoke, spells and arrows were being flung into the air to wipe out the remaining nightmares. Koros looked up for a moment and watched the shadowed creatures fall from the air. And he let a small smile spread across his lips.

“We did, Captain Hayder.” He looked towards the barrier as the last of its cracked surface restored itself. “And it wouldn’t have been possible without your help. Good job…”

—--

But as the people of Alyona began to celebrate and wipe out the last of the nightmares, a pair of figures appeared right outside of the barrier. A bandaged man and a little girl.

Adam and Eve.

“Oh, the sleepwalker is dead.” Eve looked down at where the flames had scorched the earth and pouted. “That’s a shame.”

She turned around to face her companion who seemed unbothered by this development.

“Aren’t you sad that your sleepwalker is dead, Adam?”

“It is truly tragic, Eve,” Adam replied in his muffled voice. “But that’s alright. We can make another one. So go and play, ok?”

“Really?” Eve perked up with round eyes. She clapped happily as she stepped forward. “Yay!”

And she touched the magical bubble covering the city, making it pop.

—-

Hayder stood alone now with Koros. The other captains moved to gather the companies and do a headcount of who survived. So the two of them filled each other in with everything that the other hand missed.

“...and I sent Warlord Dhofruid and High Magus Xhrkr to help deal with the remaining nightmares,” the Dark Lord explained.

Hayder pursed his lips. “Are you sure Warlord Dhofruid would be a good fit for that—”

But before he could finish speaking, he heard a loud crack. His brows snapped together and he snapped his gaze to the side. His eyes went wide as he saw the crack running across the barrier protecting the city.

“What…?”

And all at once, it shattered. The entire dome collapsed as two figures stepped into Alyona.

The Dark Lord immediately snapped his gaze towards them as he drew his black blade. “Captain Hayder, evacuate everyone out of the city!”

“What…?” Hayder blinked a few times, still trying to process what was going on. “Evacuate everyone?”

“I’ve already given Captain Tashia her orders on how to navigate the refugees through the evacuation tunnel,” Koros continued. “Now evacuate everyone— even the companies— before it is too late!”

He called out, and Hayder opened his mouth. But one of the two figures— a little girl— moved. She had moved so fast, Hayder couldn’t see her until she was standing before the feet of Azad.

She laughed and placed a hand on the stone statue. “First, I have to get rid of this.”

It was a simple statement. But it was not one Hayder could comprehend until he heard the loud groan. And all at once, Azad collapsed, its stone body breaking apart.

Hayder’s eyes went wide as he saw the rubble fall from above. Even though Azad wasn’t in use, its body should have still been incredibly durable. “Just how…?”

“Next—” the little girl continued as her gaze snapped towards Koros. “I’ll deal with you.”

And she appeared next to him as Hayder shouted.

“Dark Lord!”

But Koros reacted in time, swinging down with his black blade. The attack narrowly missed her as she leapt back. She landed lightly, like she had been skipping across a yard. And as she stopped moving for a moment, Hayder’s eyes grew wide as he finally took a good look at her face.

Because she looked like an elf, except her eyes were replaced by the stars themselves, and when she smiled, her mouth was pitch-black. She was nothing like he had seen before. But she was real.

Crossing her arms, she turned towards the second figure— a bandaged man. “Aw, that dark elf is fast…”

“He is Dark Lord Koros of Alyona— the successor to my former friend, Xylor. Do not underestimate him, Eve.” The bandaged man shook his head as he simply strode forward.

Hayder stared at the two figures, before he realized who they were. “They’re… the Dreamers. Which means—” His eyes widened as he faced the bandaged man.

And Eve tilted her head curiously, facing her companion. “And what will you do while I play, Adam?”

“Dark Lord Adam,” Hayder whispered in realization, staring wide-eyed at the bandaged man.

Koros didn’t seem to react to this revelation. He simply tensed, ready for battle. And Adam raised his hands.

“I will rebuild what was lost, of course,” the former Dark Lord of Catherine said in a muffled voice.

And all around him, the corpses of the fallen soldiers and civilians shifted. Their bodies immediately began to shrivel up as a pool of black formed over his head. From that darkness, Hayder heard a screech.

Nightmares began to pour out by the hundreds as Adam continued to walk forward.

Dark Lord Koros called out once more, “Hayder, move!”

Hayder blinked a few times as the shadowed creatures flew up high, before he nodded. He scrambled back towards the city as he shouted for everyone to evacuate.

And Eve giggled as she skipped up to the Dark Lord of Alyona.

“Now… how long will you keep me entertained, Mr Koros?” she asked.

But he didn’t answer.

—--

Kara looked up and watched as the barrier collapsed. It happened so suddenly. She thought the fighting was already over, and she was making her way back to the upper tunnels. But now, more nightmares took to the sky as there was nothing left to protect Alyona.

“What is going on…?” she asked, still carrying Caius on her back.

“I… I think I may have an idea,” he replied hesitantly.

She furrowed her brows as she turned a corner. “Can you be less cryptic?”

“I believe the Dreamers have—” the elf started.

But he paused when he realized Kara had come to a sudden halt. She took a nervous step back as she stared at a figure standing down the street.

Caius narrowed his eyes. “Who is that?”

“That’s…” Kara trailed off as she stared at the figure waiting for her.

At the Soulmaster’s machine.

“Kara of Earth C65,” it said as it took a step forward, practically slamming its staff onto the ground. “The Soulmaster seeks your presence. Hand yourself over peacefully, or you shall be forcefully detained.”

Author's Notes:

5.2k words. What thonk?

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