Aidon has fallen, Timpuji and Nova are dead, but the fight continues. Fantasia has seen a vision of us escaping from the tightening clutches of the Gandole scorn. But she says this vision is not like the others. This one is foggy and fading fast. The hands of fate are at a crossroad and we must proceed carefully. We travel only at night and rest in the sewers during the day so we won’t be detected by the Gandole’s heat-seeking devices. It has been only three days since the attack on Aidon’s capital and I’m pretty sure we are the last of the Aidoshians. Even if I die, I must ensure Fantasia makes it out. She is the light of our civilization, the last of the Great Oracles and the hope of our people. As long as she lives, we can rebuild our people with those of us whom were not in Aidon the day of the invasion.

Sokon is proving himself useful. His somewhat creepy insight of every nook and cranny of the sewer has gotten us out of life and death situations. I guess that should be expected. He was a former engineer who spent most of his life down here repairing and upgrading the sewer systems before the war reached the capital. As we travel he often tells of his exploits down here. The Gandole have blocked off all exits above and below ground. They have sealed the sewer passages with some sort of metal walls. It’s only a matter of time before the Gandole start searching the sewer if they are not already here. The thick walls will keep their infrared technology from spotting us through walls but they have night vision goggles.

“I’m tired of sleeping in the sewer, Kai,” Fantasia pouts.

“It’ll be just a little longer,” I say sternly.

“You said that yesterday,” she says angrily while crossing her arms.

“Well, look, what do you want me to say?” I snap almost yelling.” I’m trying to get us out of here alive.”

“We can try to stay alive somewhere nicer,” she responds.

“Fantasia, hush,” Sokon says. He notices I am not in a mood to argue with her.

“Thank…”

Sokon cuts me off. “Someone’s coming. Get ready.”

We quickly pack up our food, water and ammunition and follow Sokon down the long corridor until we come to a small hole in the wall. He reaches his hand in. The ghostly footsteps are getting closer as Sokon still has his arm in the wall. Suddenly a loud click rings throughout the sewer and a hidden passage opens. Sokon jumps into the newfound room first, then Fantasia and myself.

“Hurry and close the door, Sokon,” I say.

“It’s on a thirty second timer. Until then, it won’t close,” he says as he pulls out his gun aiming at the doorway.

“Help, someone. Anyone!” I hear a chilling wail from the walkway.

I peek outside to see who was calling out. He sounds too young to be a Gandole soldier. The shadow comes closer then steps into one of the few sewer lights. It is a little boy less than ten years of age. I run from the small room to grab him covering his mouth so he doesn’t scream. I sprint as fast as I can back to the passage Sokon opened. I can hear the piercing click again followed by a metal screeching. By the time I get to the door it is too small for me to get through, I push the little boy through just in time. Someone bangs on the door to get my attention.

“Reach in the hole and grab the lever inside. Pull and twist it counter clockwise,” Sokon screams though it sounds barely beyond a whisper on this side.

I do so without question. The small hole goes farther back than I thought it would. Nearly my entire forearm is in before I feel the handle within. I pull it like he said but there is no click and it won’t budge.

“Did you do it?” he yells.

“Yeah. Nothing is happening. Can’t you open it from that side?”

There is no response so I bang on the wall.

“Wait a minute, Kai. He is doing something.” It sounds like Fantasia.

“The gear is stripped. We can’t open it. There is an old passage in here. It goes directly to the water purifying plant. Meet us there.”

“Okay. Keep Fantasia and the little boy safe. If I’m not there by dawn, continue on without me.”

It looks like I’m all alone until I get to the plant. I’m not happy to leave Fantasia with Sokon but it looks like I don’t have a choice. The best thing for me to do is figure out how to get to the water plant. The Gandole traders seized it long ago to “relieve” unnecessary jobs so the Aidoshians could focus on rebuilding their lives. I’m sure it sounds great on Gandole news channels, but those thieves made life that much harder.

Without delay I start my journey walking through the silent halls of the dark underground. Minutes fly by like seconds as I run into one dead end after another all sealed by metal walls. With the flashlight, I can plainly see the Gandole griffin insignia. I have no choice but to take my chances outside. The Gandole have completely block all tunnels to the plant. I walk to the cold, rusted over ladder to my right. Which leads upward to the manhole. Small pockets of moon light shine through the four holes of its lid.

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I climb up to find it much longer than it appeared. Unexpectedly, I feel something grab my leg. I quickly try and shake whatever it is off, but soon I find it is latched tightly. I look down and see a shadow. It wastes no time in pulling me off the ladder and throwing me to the far wall several feet away. I shine my flashlight hoping to get a clear visual on whatever managed to throw me such a distance. Despite the unbearable pain rattling through my body, I stand up. Suddenly, again, something grabs me by my hand slinging me back against the wall, then disappears quickly. Something strong as whatever is attacking is toying with me. I can tell it’s holding back.

“Kai? Kai Excalibur… Is that you?” asks a voice from the darkness. The voice is not harsh and does not share the Gandole accent but instead an Aidoshian one.

I shine my light in front of me. Walking towards me a female figure in Gandole body armor. She has a mask over her face that conceals her eyes but her hot amber hair jumps out at me. Her bust is so big that it shows through the Gandole armor. Her hips swing from side to side. She strides and swaggers like a runway model.

“How do you know my name?” I ask.

“We met in a past life,” she replies as she moves closer.

More banging footsteps approach until they stand over me—five men in Gandole soldier attire carrying no visible firearms. One of them hands the woman a sword with a blade that is so clear it is barely visible and a shield no bigger than a frying pan.

“I thought all of my old friends would have been dead by now, especially one I once considered a brother. I never thought I’d be given such a rare opportunity to kill the last member of the Brotherhood.” She waves her hand and the soldiers run back out of sight without a word. “Now I’ll give you the opportunity to hand over Fantasia and live as my servant or die here.”

“Does it look like I have her?” I ask. “How do you know she is not dead?”

“That future-telling pest would not die so easy,” she snaps at me. “So, listen, boy. Start talking,” she commands.

“She is dead,” I say as convincingly as I can, “killed by your Myrmidon long ago.”

She does not seem to buy it. She throws her sword to the ground and its sharp blade cuts into the brick as if it were soft clay. I reach for my gun but the pain rattles my body to the bone forcing me to concede. She grabs me by the neck carrying me to the manhole she pulled me from and hurls me up. My head hits the metal lid but it does not slow my ascent.

The next thing I know I’m lying down in the middle of the street, the woman leaning on the street light a couple of feet from where I am. Strangely my body does not hurt. I feel better than I did before this crazy lady decided to throw me against the wall.

“Sokon had the pleasure of killing the Brotherhood and all I get to kill are stragglers left behind. Of course Sokon went and got himself killed but, why should he have all the fun?” She stops and takes off her mask and to my surprise it’s Reaka Kimpu the former Univer Knights’ leader. “Shocked, Kai. I bet you’re wondering how I’m alive,” she says with a smile. “The Gandole offered me something I could not refuse—immortality at my fingertips! The power to do as I please, kill whomever I please, slaughter hundreds, or even thousands at a time. What more could any girl want?”

She is not the same person she once was. It’s obvious she is like Fantasia and her mind has also been twisted to an extreme extent. The Reaka Timpuji all those years ago, the Reaka I called my dear sister, was kind and level-headed. When I found out she was leading the Univer Knights to the country’s edge to escape, I knew something was wrong. It was unlike her to rush into things. What did they do to them? What type of monstrous being would strip away someone’s mind until all that’s left is a husk?

“I don’t know you. You’re no Aidoshian. You’re just a blood-thirsty beast defiling the body of one of Aidon’s heroines,” I shout.

“Kai, you were taught by Amùsen how to fight,” Reaka responds. “I made sure you were in combat condition before we began. So how do you feel?”

“Why not just kill me?” I ask.

“It would be no fun that way. I like to enjoy my kills,” she replies.

I stand up and face her putting my hand on the gun at my side. Strange that she would not take away my firearms, especially since she is only equipped with a sword and shield. This is not the time for hesitation, I think to myself as I pull the gun from my holster aiming it at her. She does not run for cover. Instead she walks towards me holding her claymore behind her head. I pull the trigger and watch in awe as she swings the blade. It deflects the bullet. I fire three more shots, but to no avail. Her sword moves so fast it is impossible to see.

Suddenly she vanishes then appears in front of me. I can’t react quickly enough to set up my guard. Is this Black Technology at work? She knees me in the gut hard and I fly off my feet, blood pouring from my mouth and nose. I fall hard on the sidewalk. My body will no longer respond. The pain so intense my body locks up. She reaches down and picks me up by the throat. With one hand she holds me up in the air as she squeezes the life from me.

“Behold, my friend, the power the Gandole has obtained. They shared with me the secret of immortality. Though I did not want it at first, now I see the light and the glory that only the Gandole possess!”

“What did they do to you?” I ask.

“They gave me what they call the Pure Black Seed Adrenaline. Now that you see you cannot win, I’ll ask you again. Dear brother, where is the Oracle?” she requests sweetly with a smile.

“She is dead,” I reply as I spit blood in her face.

“Then you will see her in Inferno,” she says as she raises her sword to my throat.

I pray, as long as she makes it out alive, my life’s work is complete. May the great God Univer except me into his kingdom were I can finally be at peace.

“May Univer find my soul not tainted with evil for I’m only doing what I must to protect his Great Oracle. I am a child of his holy Word and his will and his word is only deciphered through her—the last of his Great Oracles.” I close my eyes.

“Stand down, Reaka!” I hear a male voice behind me say.

“Aw,” Reaka says disappointedly. “What are you doing here I thought you weren’t allowed to leave the Myrmidon. You always ruin my fun!”

I open my eyes. I am unable to see the lad talking behind me, He sounds young, possibly even younger than Nova. I would not expect someone so youthful to command Reaka or the Myrmidon. That means the person standing behind me is the reason I failed to save Timpuji and Nova. He did not fire the cannon because he did not want Fantasia to get caught in the blast.

“We have plans for this one. I understand he has been spending an extended amount of time around the Oracle we are pursuing. If he dies, we won’t be able to pick his mind for the information we seek to understand,” the boy says.

“Yes, sir. I guess I’ll go back to hunting that little boy. It won’t give me as much pleasure but I guess it’ll have to do.” She drops me just before the world becomes dark.