We rose to the semi-final platform together. Foggy and I stood side by side, just as we had at the start of it all, and prepared ourselves for the next challenge we would face as we waited for our new Guardian to descend.

“Ready for this, Foggy?” I said as the sounds of the worm splashing and attacking below resounded through the stomach cavern.

Our platform shook from the worm’s impact, and I refused to look over the edge this time around. I knew we were high, and that was good enough for me. I had to just idly hope that Fogdahn could pull through against the worm, knowing there was little to nothing we could do for him right now anyway. Selfishly I hoped he would win soon since Foggy and I might really need the assistance up here, but I couldn’t rely on that level of plot armor this late in the game; though a bit of deus ex machina comes in handy every now and then.

Fogwarth looked down at me and gave me his full smile. “Of course, my dearest friend. We have met ferocious fiends far feistier than these and we have lived to weave the tale! You need not worry, sir berry, for I, Fogwarth, will be at your side to face most challenges.”

There was something in his eyes just then. Some kind of understanding, or maybe an untold knowledge, that gave them just a bit more shine. It was as if he were looking into my blueberry depths, and I couldn’t tell if it was just him being hungry again or if he actually had something on his mind.

Shuts I guess this was as good of a time as any.

“Hey… So, speaking of that. I kind of needed to get something off of my chest here, since we might die and all that. I… uh… look, I…”

I struggled to say the words. How could I tell this absolute hero that I was going to leave? After all he had done for me, how could I explain my need to go to Presley and speak with more people like myself? How could… how could I leave him behind?”

I sighed. “Foggy, I-“

The entire cavern shook. Our platforms rocked and swayed, the pillars that kept them supported barely hung on with the subtle sounds of cracks below. Swallowing hard, Foggy and I charged to the end of our platform and looked down to find Fogdahn barely holding on. His wings fluttered but could only lift him so high, and the worm, weakened and slower now, had the shot all lined up to swallow him whole. This was it. Fogdahn might be doomed here.

“Brother!” Foggy screamed. “We are nearly there! You must hold on for but a moment longer!”

“Fogwarth…” Fogdahn muttered, barely audible from our distance. “This… this is it for me…”

“No…” Foggy said, falling to a knee and driving his fist into the stone floor again and again. “No… it cannot be. You must fight, Fogdahn! You must savor the essence of victory! For Mothric! For our people! For the legacy of we, the new Lords of Palea!”

“I am… sorry… Fogwarth…”

“Ah, shit,” I said, knowing what I had to do just then and having absolutely no time to think it over. It was a small chance… but at least it was a chance.

I cast my healing spores faster than I had ever conjured any spell, aiming it right over the struggling horror moth. Radiant, glowing spores fell from thin air and began to soak into the flesh of the moth. His gaze hardened and he pointed his one yoga ball sized eye up at me with a disconcerting stare.

“No… why? Why?! No! You were meant to save this spell! How will you save yourselves?!” Fogdahn cried out, just as a tiny miracle popped her head over his shoulder.

My tiny medic familiar, with only a 3% chance of showing up for work today, popped up and glowed with the radiant light of healing.

I just shrugged. “Easy. We won’t.” I answered, looking to Fogwarth and placing my gloves hand on his shoulder as he knelt beside me. “We don’t worry about saving ourselves, asshole. Welcome to the team.”

Foggy smiled and gave me a warm nod of appreciation; something he never needed to do.

In the last few days I have witness him lose so much. He lost the fight against his own pride when he decided to finally evolve. He lost Ix-Lok during our struggle at the southern border wall. His kingdom and people during the invasion, and his sister during the betrayal. He watched the final moments of his fathers life all while actively taking the life of his own brother.

Basically, what I’m saying is that Foggy has been through some shit lately, and the guy didn’t need to lose anyone else just yet.

We turned our backs to Fogdahn as he regained his former strength slowly and gradually, having just enough energy back to dodge the worm's sluggish strike. Together, Foggy and I waited to be met in combat by our latest foe.

Only for an invisible force to rush in from out of nowhere, toppling over me and ramming into Fogwarth.

I shouted in anger and pain, raising arms to block my face from being trampled by the nearly translucent figure fighting us. I could feel the creature hovering over me, rows of thin legs on either side like a centipede and a long, heavy body that nearly crushed me. Foggy was hit by the translucent beast but recovered quicker than I had, immediately brandishing his sword and shield and hacking at the air around him. I tried to free myself, tried to slash the sword down on the invisible creature's body, but I was far too pinned to be effective. Still, I could just barely see the creature if I focused hard enough, a shimmering outline of reflected light slightly giving it away.

“Ah! A coward then!” Foggy bellowed, landing a glancing blow on the invisible creature. “Face me, vile fiend! Show thyself and face me in a true warrior’s duel!”

Fogwarth spun around, his shield held out like a battering ram and slamming into the beast, shifting it just enough for me to move my arm and slash it with my sword. Despite appearing as nothing but air, my blade sliced through its underbelly as if it were digging into a loaf of fresh, warm bread. Thick purple blood oozed down onto me, and I rolled away quickly to avoid being covered, not knowing if there were any hazardous properties tied to this one as well. I got to my feet, rejoining Foggy and holding my sword at the ready. However, now that I was back on my feet I lost sight of the thing, only tracking some of its movements due to the trail of the strange blood, which also vanished after a few seconds.

“Shit. This thing is gonna be hard to track,” I said, shifting my gaze to search for the refracting light around it again. “Doesn’t help that it's so silent on top of being invisible. These challenges just aren’t fair sometimes, man.”

“Yes, it does seem to be that way,” he answered, bringing up his shield in a defensive stance. “If only there were some way to-”

Suddenly our platform intensely rattled and creaked, the support pillar clearly taking more damage than it was meant to; either the worm was not supposed to be in here and the dungeon hadn’t counted on its presence, or it just never thought someone would actually pass the first half of the trial itself. As it shook I could see more purple blood leak from the invisible Guardian, leaving a spotty trail that was approaching us head on. I shouted, signaling to Foggy that the thing was moments away from pouncing us, and we both shot forward with our swords at the same time to cut the fucker down.

And, we missed it.

Our swords cut through air and hit the stone platform, ringing out in the sultry tones of failure. The creature must have backed away just in time, because a moment later it pounced and slammed right into both of us, knocking Foggy back a step and nearly throwing me over the ledge. I sprawled out and hugged the floor, barely able to stop myself, then I felt something cold bloom over us like a fully blasted AC unit.

I turned just in time to see the invisible creature emit a cold cone of frost at us, blasting us with a torrent of ice shards and freezing magical power. The blast appeared to come from thin air, the ice shards leaving long cuts on my body and coating Foggy in a thin sheet of ice himself. He swung out again, not connecting to a damn thing and then roaring in frustration. He slammed his foot down, summoning his earthen spikes but connecting with nothing but air.

“You… You are a worthy adversary, my phantasmal foe. I applaud your stealth, though I will not respect it. Show yourself and let us end this with honor!” Foggy called out.

“We need an edge,” I answered, climbing back to my feet as blood dripped down my berry body from the icicle cuts. “We’re running out of time.”

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“Yes…” A voice called out from behind us, and a buzzing sound filled the air. “Time is not our ally. We must trigger the next platform with haste.”

[Your party has slain a Tapeworm Goliath - Level 48. You are awarded 4,122 experience points]

[You have gained a level. You are now Level 15. You are 0 experience points from Level 16]

[You are at the maximum level for the Tier 1 - Calypso Brawler path. Please select an available evolutionary path to continue your growth progress. Current Tier 2 paths available: None]

“Fogdahn! You have done it, my brother! You have toppled a mighty foe!” Foggy cried out, turning to face the moth despite the danger currently stalking us right on the platform. “I never doubted you, Fogdahn. Though, I do admit there were times when I had absolutely no faith in your victory whatsoever. Yet that is neither here nor there!”

“No time for this, we have to kill this Guardian!” I shouted, trying to clear my thoughts of the notifications I had received.

This was it. I was at the end of my rope with no paths to take. Was this all just for nothing then? Was my continued fight pointless? No. No, it couldn’t be. I had to keep fighting for the sake of my allies, my friends. I couldn’t let Foggy and Ak die without doing my all to protect them the same way they protected me when I was nothing but a regular blueberry. I owed them that, path or no path. So, I gripped my sword tightly and decided not to share my news with Foggy, saving him the distraction and preparing for us to take on this Guardian.

You won’t break me. Fu- Wait. No, that’s a different book.

“We have no time left. I fear that the toxin leaking from the wall will overtake our first platform soon. If it does, the Icaraz soldier will perish and rot, reversing the mechanism he now presses down on and thus dropping the remaining platforms and killing us all,” Fogdahn said, landing beside us with his gross ass body. “We must utilize this mechanism now, raise the final platform, and leave one of us behind to take on this Guardian.”

I shared a glance with Foggy, briefly removing my eyes from where the foe may have been based on the droplets of purple I could see. Our eyes locked for a moment, then I returned my gaze to the platform. Shit. God dammit. It… it had to be me. With Fogwarth and Fogdahn on the final platform we were almost assured victory. I just had to hold out long enough for them to take down the last guardian. I could do this. I had all of my abilities back up and running, and I just needed to hold out for a little while.

“Foggy, I-”

I was cut off as the loud clanking of metal sounded out beside me; Fogwarth had removed his chest armor, gloves, and helmet.

“What the fuck are you doing?!” I yelled, mouth agape and eyes wide.

I watched as Fogwarth walked up to the mechanism, careful to scan his surroundings for the stealthy Guardian, then drop his heavy armor onto the switch. His armor had weighed far greater than I assumed, and it fell to the mechanism like an Acme anvil, cracking the stone on contact and immediately depressing the button enough to shake the final platform free. He stepped back, grabbing his sword and shield from the ground where he had left them and then offering us a wide, plump grin.

“If this opponent does not wish to grace me with a fair match, then I shall handicap myself and bring this war to its doorstep!” Fogwarth said. He stood there triumphantly, his wide, green body showing off the layers of rolls and boulder shoulders; he had the physique of a bodybuilder who went on an all-pudding diet.

He gave me a look before he turned away from us, and it was a look I felt like I needed. It was a look that simply said I should trust him, and that he will trust me.

“Alright… Go get that asshole, Foggy. You got this,” I said, making my way to the edge where the platform would be rising up any moment. Then an idea came to me and I turned back, watching the dripping purple blood leaving a vanishing trail around the farside of the arena, clearly avoiding Fogdahn’s presence. “Actually, here. Take this. You shouldn’t have to fight alone, Foggy.”

I summoned Scrappy back into the world and the Orchid, now nearly as tall as I was, gave some jabs and raised his fists in preparation for battle. I bid Scrappy farewell, watching as the flower took fighting form right beside Fogwarth as Fogdahn and I stepped onto the raising platform just as it broke the threshold of the former.

We rose up, and from my vantage I could see Foggy already formulating a plan with the [Battle Orchid].

“So, what’s our plan then?” I said, not wanting to waste time.

“Simple,” Fogdahn answered, spinning his scythe around him in one oily black tendril hand. “We unleash everything we have on our opponent, and we end this once and for all.”

“Fuck. Yes,” I said, trying to spin my sword and dropping it to the ground. I hurriedly snatched it back up, hoping the moth didn’t notice.

He did. He literally had an eyeball for a head. The guy didn’t miss much.

“Fogdahn…” I said, inhaling and exhaling in preparation for the fight. “I… I didn’t tell Foggy, but… Well, this is it for me. The end of the line. I’m at the max level for my current path, and no tier 2 paths are available to me. With this stupid decay timer still ticking down I have less than a day left before I’m done for…”

The moth turned to me, his enormous pupil shifting to look down at me curiously without saying anything. Instead of waiting for him to speak, I just continued onward. My voice trembled, and I felt tears well up in my eyes that I fought away, not allowing them to fall down my face.

“Just promise me you’ll get Foggy and Ak out of here, yeah? No matter what? They deserve better than dying in this horrible place. Can you do that? Please?” I said, composing myself and focusing on the battle to come.

“Interesting…” Fogdahn said, then shifted his gaze back to the other side of the platform, waiting for the Guardian to appear.

“Interesting? That’s it?” I muttered in frustration. “You really suck.”

Just as before, something huge fell from the ceiling above and smashed into the platform with a wet, slurping thump. Our platform shook from the impact, and the blood red blob of meat and veins splashed gore from all around it as it landed. I quickly prepared myself for whatever this thing was, cycling through my abilities and preparing for the combo of all combos.

I’d start off with my [Entangling Rose-hips], then I would move right away to my bananarang. After that it was my pillar of fiery berry death while the thing was still trapped or slowed, followed by my sunflower cannon. I was desperate to check my new ability choices out, but unfortunately there was absolutely no time for all of that right now.

I watched the blob across from us as it just sat there, unmoving. Maybe I did have time for my skills then. Was this that deus ex machina I mentioned earlier?

“You… You made it…” An all-too-familiar voice called out as a torrent of thorny stems rose from the oozing Guardian body across from us, forming into the shape of a person. “Return to me that which is mine… Do not be swayed by this blueberry abomination, Eldritch Lord. We, the Lords of Palea, do not reject one another. We do not betray one another. Return to me my birthright and let us be done with such things.”

“Well gee, if it isn’t ol’ Bandages McGee over here. Come back for another asskicking then, Imhotep?” I said with a wolfish grin. “For the last time, we don’t… Oh… Oh, nevermind. I guess he does have your belt or whatever it was. Huh.”

“I do,” Fogdahn answered, retrieving it from his pouch and letting the thorny belt drape around his tendril hand. “Tell me, Burquinn. Why should you be reinstated as a Lord once more? Clearly others did not see you fit to wear the mantle of thorns any further. Why should I give you such a boon when your own God did not have such faith in you?”

“You bastard…” Burquinn grunted, stepping forward from the briar bush in full view. His bandages were still just as ragged as before, and his robe was even worse off following our battle. “You know nothing of the will of Juniperscar! This is what I was born to do, the mantle I was created to wear! I have followed your party through this cursed place to meet you here, and I will not be denied what is mine!”

“No…” Fogdahn answered. “No, Burquinn. It is you who does not know the will of Juniperscar, for I can now see clearly what was meant to transpire. I can see the threads of intricately woven fate that brought us, all of us, to this place here and now. You failed. Your God is vanquished, your Lord status taken, and your powers diminished. As the Eldritch Lord of Palea, I hereby deny you your status as the Briar Lord, and I bestow it… to another…”

I barely had time to catch the belt as it was thrown to me. I reached out and snatched it from the air, the thin thorns piercing the palms of my glove and pricking my hand. Yet, as I held it, I felt a power unlike anything I ever had known. It thrummed with energy in a rhythmic pattern, as if the ethereal might stored within were singing me a song the moment our wills aligned. I had no idea what this meant, or what would happen next, but I brought up the prompt and prepared myself to click yes.

[Thorn Belt of the Briar Lord. Type: Armor, Waist. Rarity: Legendary. Defense: +100% Nature Resistance, +15% slashing resistance. Effect: 9% of all physical damage received is reflected back at the attacker. Legendary Effect: Tests Of Time - This item cannot be broken or damaged. This item is impervious to weathering effects. Description: The Briar Lord, last to be added to the Lords of Palea, was the lesser known of all the Lords. As the being chosen to represent Vacel Juniperscar, the Briar Lord carried the heavy weight of the God of Growth and Harvest’s expectations. The Briar Lord would fall into despair as their peers were hunted and taken down one-by-one, resorting to trickery and deceit in order to survive the purge of their kind. In the final moments of Juniperscar’s life, he sought to relinquish the burden of the Briar Lord on another, and chose to release his faithful from the binds that were the cursed title of the Lord. When combined with the Claymore of the Briar Lord it will unlock the path of the Briar Lord]

[Note: This item is soulbound. This item may open a new evolutionary path. Bind this item?]

“What?! No! NO!” Burquinn screamed, immediately conjuring one of his massive briar serpents to attack us.

Fogdahn shot out to meet the thorn snake with the edge of his scythe, and I selected [Yes] on the item.