After a long ride up the side of the mountain, Alexander could see the mouth of a cave, just as Elizabeth had said. He dismounted the horse and looked into it, unsure of what to expect inside. The cold hair gusting this high up made him want to rush inside, but he doubted that it would be much warmer on the inside.

Erika reiterated Merlin’s instructions. “You have to go in alone and face whatever awaits you inside. The cave lets out at the base of the mountain on the other side. We’ll set up camp and wait for you there.”

She wished him luck and rode off. Elizabeth didn’t say anything, she just looked at him for a moment before riding off after Erika.

Alexander continued to stare into the opening of the cave. His nerves were jittery, and his stomach was turning. He didn’t want to go inside but knew that there was no other choice.

He slowly stepped inside and immediately felt a shift in the air. The atmosphere within felt thick and heavy. It was suffocating, making it hard to breathe, and a thick blue fog covered the ground. He recalled Merlin saying within there was a high concentration of magic, and he realized that the heaviness and pressure he was feeling was this magical concentration. He placed his hand in the blue fog and felt the same sensation as when he channeled his magical energy. Stunned, he realized that this wasn’t a fog at all, but raw magical power flowing through the cave.

He continued deeper into the cave, and the light from the surface began to fade away, slowly dimming with each passing step, each step leading further into this dark unknown abyss.

He conjured a small flame for light, but the magical pressure immediately snuffed it out, much to his dismay. “How am I supposed to make it through if I can’t even see where I’m going?” he wondered aloud. He turned back toward the way he came, attempting to use some of the remaining light and reorient himself, yet when he turned, the light was gone. All that remained was darkness and the faint blue glow of the magic running through the cavern.

He struggled to breathe, his heart rate rose, and he began to hyperventilate. The pressure prevented him from getting a full breath, causing an endless cycle of panic.

A moment later, he heard Merlin’s voice call out, “Be calm, Alexander Bellmont.”

He thought this was strange. Merlin had never referred to him by his full name like that before, but he was certain it was her voice.

“Merlin? Where are you?” he desperately called out, his voice echoing in the cavern.

The voice responded, “I am not the one you call Merlin.”

A faint light appeared, and within it was a figure, adorned in a shadowy cloak concealing its whole body and face.

“Who are you? Why do you sound like Merlin?” Alexander questioned.

The figure replied, now with Erika’s voice, “I am no one in particular.”

Alexander grew more confused and desperate. “I’m really not in the mood for games!”

The figure replied in Elizabeth’s voice, “Neither am I.”

The figure spoke again, now in Robert’s voice, leaving Alexander in a shocked silence. “I am the magic of this cave, shaped by your memories.”

“And what does that mean? What do you want with me?” he asked, his voice trembling.

The figure responded by holding up its hand to him. A second later, Alexander was able to see within the dark void of the cave, and the scene around him began to morph. He watched in awe as the cavern walls shifted to look like the house he grew up in. He saw a young boy with black hair facing away from him, frozen in place. He slowly approached the boy and asked the figure, “What is this?”

The figure responded, now cycling through the voices of Merlin, Erika, Elizabeth, Robert, Megan, Lila, and Veronica. “Take a closer look and see for yourself.”

He nervously walked around to the front of the boy, and his stomach dropped. Standing there frozen was him, or rather, him as he appeared as a child.

“What are you playing at?” Alexander questioned the figure.

“Look closely. Does anything about this scene seem familiar?” the figure asked in response.

He looked again at this fake representation of him. It was an exact replication. The idea of seeing this other version of himself made him feel uneasy. Something was off about this entire situation, but he couldn’t quite tell what it was. He walked around the interior of the house and noticed by the clocks present that it was nighttime. His mind raced, wondering what he could be missing, when it finally hit him. He was alone here in the house. He ran around looking to find anyone else, but there was no one.

Panicking, he told the figure, “It can’t be…”

The figure coldly responded, “This is the night that your parents and sister died.” The scene morphed again, the walls melting away to reveal a night sky, while the floor of the house cracked apart and then reformed into the concrete of a road. The replica of him dissipated, and in its place a car formed, frozen in time just as the representation of him had been.

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A wave of nausea hit him as he approached the car. He didn’t want to see, but he couldn’t look away. “Why…why are you showing me this?” he weakly asked.

The figure responded, “Ever since that night, you have always lived with a certain guilt. You’ve always blamed yourself in a way, wondering if things would’ve been different had you been present.”

Alexander fell to his knees, his voice breaking. “My parents and sister went out to a show that night. I didn’t want to go so I pretended to be sick, so they’d let me stay home…I know nothing would’ve changed…but do you know how it feels?! To know the only reason you’re alive is because of a lie!”

The figure responded, “I know. For years you’ve pretended that you’ve moved on. But no matter how much you try to build that facade, to wear that mask, you can’t lie to yourself.”

Alexander fell forward to his hands and began to cry. “I lost everything that night. No child should have to go through what I did. No 10-year-old boy should have to hear that his family is dead…gone…and they’re never coming back…”

The figure responded with a simple “Indeed,” almost sounding pleased.

The figure then said, “There is a truth of which you are unaware.” Alexander raised his head to see four dark silhouettes form in the road around the car. One tall and slender, another seemed to be the size of an average human, the third was taller and broad with large wings on its back, and the fourth was roughly his own size, also with wings on its back.

With tears still streaming down his face, he demanded, “What’s happening?”

The figure cryptically suggested, “It wasn’t a car accident that killed your family.” He watched in horror as the four silhouettes slowly approached the car. He jumped to his feet and screamed, “No!” not wanting to see what came next. He shouted again and conjured a fireball, sending it at the vision playing out before him. “Make it stop!” he yelled as the fireball exploded, obstructing his vision. The figure complied with his request, and the scene morphed once again.

The road fizzled away, now forming a tiled lobby floor that looked familiar to him. The trees and the night sky shimmered, slowly fading into the walls of a modern-day office building. The car in the middle of the road was replaced with a small booth, centered in this lobby. He realized that this was a representation of the Mek-Tek headquarters building. He noticed replicas of Robert and Megan standing near the booth. He slowly approached them and held out his hands, desperately wishing for them to be real. “Robert, Megan…” he muttered, crying for his friends.

Within the booth, he saw Lila and Veronica. He wondered how they were doing, hoping that he could explain everything to all of them once he got back. He thought that he even missed Veronica’s coldness, thinking of it as familiar and comfortable in a way. On the other side of the lobby, he saw Erika and Elizabeth. He turned to the figure and asked, “What are you showing me now?”

The figure responded, “These are all the people present in your life with whom you have formed connections. They are, in a sense, your entire world.” The figure held its hand up again, and the scene shimmered. It changed to reveal a ruined cityscape, rubble littering the streets with bodies strewn across the devastation. He covered his mouth in stunned horror, his eyes wide. His stomach turned as he tried not to be sick.

He stumbled around out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something. He looked closer and saw the bodies of Robert and Megan, lying lifeless on the ground. He let out a terrified gasp and saw the body of Erika just ahead of them, as if she was shielding them to the end.

His hands shook uncontrollably, and further ahead, he found the bodies of Lila and Erika slumped next to each other, Veronica’s motionless corpse at their feet.

Unable to hold it in, Alexander screamed again. “Why are you showing me this! These…these horrible visions?”

The figure replied, “To help you understand. What you see before you now is what will become of your world if you continue on your current course. If you continue to show no spirit, no desire to confront your destiny, then your world will die.”

He dropped to the ground, defeated. He wanted to cry, but no tears or sound would come out. He clenched his fists and punched the ruined ground over and over, the skin on his hands painfully breaking apart, blood flowing from his knuckles with each subsequent strike.

The figure spoke again, its voice calm and unwavering. “This can be prevented. You can save everyone…if you so desire.”

Alexander looked up, his voice trembling. “How is that possible? I’m not strong enough. I’m nowhere near as powerful as Merlin, and I couldn’t even defeat Elizabeth…”

The figure replied, “There is more to being a World Guardian than simply power. I believe you have heard something similar, haven’t you?”

Alexander recalled the conversation with Merlin, and it suddenly started to dawn on him. When confronted with the night his parents and sister died, he had said no one should have to feel what he felt that night. And he could prevent all this death and destruction if he desired? For the first time, it was all starting to make sense.

He stuttered, fumbling over his words. “I think I’m beginning to understand. Being a World Guardian means having a desire to help people in need.”

The figure nodded. “Go on.”

Alexander continued, “All this time, I thought it was just about learning some magic, but I was wrong. The World Guardian isn’t just a powerful sorcerer; they’re a hero!”

The figure responded with another “Indeed.”

Alexander became frustrated again, slamming his bloodied fist into the ground once more. “But I’m no hero! I’m not prepared! I’m not ready! I’m not deserving of something like that!”

The figure replied, “Few who become true heroes ever are prepared or feel they are ready. And if you thought you were deserving, that would be a sign to the contrary. Regardless of what you may feel about yourself, what your world needs is a hero. Will you step up to the task?”

Alexander understood what the figure had been trying to tell him. A new feeling of resolve began burning in him. He stood up and looked at the figure. “I will try my best! I realize now that I have to! It’s me, me or no one!”

The figure responded with another “Indeed.” It told him with certainty, “You can save your world, but doing so will cost you a part of yourself. But that part will pale in comparison to all that you will save.”

The figure raised its hand again, and the vision of the ruined city disappeared, vanishing entirely. All that remained in the cave was Alexander, the figure, and a new replica, this time taking on the hideous form of a vampire. The creature’s pale skin and sickening red eyes angered Alexander. He remembered how these creatures hunted him, and he now viewed them as responsible for the alternate future of his world.

The figure said, “The vampire menace is what currently threatens your world. You are no doubt familiar with them at this point, but you have yet to fight one yourself… Would you like some practice?”

A confident smirk crept across Alexander’s face. “Absolutely.”

The vampire sprang to life, it’s vile scream echoing off the cavern walls as it charged at him…