"Freeland, I knew you were an ugly jerk!" Elsie laughed.

She walked behind him, easily placing her hand on his back knocking Freeland out automatically.

"Oh my god! I'm such a badass!" She cheered "Did you see that?" She exclaimed happily.

Cardinal acted fast in catching Freeland before he hit the ground and put him over his shoulder as though he was carrying an unconscious sack of rice. His face was flushed red from trying to keep the man upright, as sweat ran from his brow.

"So this is why you are so weird because you literally can just touch anyone…" Cardinal paused.

"I didn't pick this gift as it chose me!" She argued.

"We still have two more…" He sighed.

He counted each of the runes he had in his pocket realizing he had only fifteen left before continuing. He was very close. So close he just needed to finish this and he would be home free. All the rune's started glowing, lighting the hallway. As he continued walking forward, the runes all lit up together and he stepped through the door.

He saw Elsie staring in amazement, wide eyed. She was mesmerized by the lights. There was nothing else she had seen or experienced that shocked or amazed her. She was impressed by the runes on the walls. They were all different colors and designs and they glowed brightly, creating beautiful patterns around the entire room.

"Wow…" She muttered softly.

"My runes are reacting with the runes embedded in the walls! We're gonna get caught!" He yelled.

Cardinal thought back to the first time he saw the runes when he was brought to the zen garden by the old man. That memory seemed so long ago and distant. There were five big black stones sitting softly on top of the beautifully combed sand.

The fiery red haired boy approached them slowly as they seemed to be calling him. He kneeled before one of the stones and placed his hands upon its surface as he gazed deep into its depth. He wondered why he felt compelled to touch these stones and why it seemed like they wanted to tell him something important.

"You look as though you heard something important," Larrow smiled.

'Why did he feel so drawn towards these stones? Is it just because he has never experienced anything like it before?' He thought to himself. He shook his head. 'Whatever it is…' He thought, 'This is all part of the puzzle.'

After several minutes of silence, he sat down with his legs crossed and closed his eyes, focusing his thoughts on deciphering the message carved on these stones. 'These words must have something to do with what I need to do,' He thought.

The first three burned his skin touching them so he ceased contact. He continued until finally he reached the fifth stone. The stone began moving slightly and its outline formed into an image.

Fire shot from his palms touching this stone causing it to begin burning with a strong orange glow. He watched intently trying to decipher what the stones meant. After a few seconds, he looked back up and noticed that the first four stones were now gone.

'Those things will come back later…I have more pressing matters at hand,' He thought.

He turned around and was surprised when a dark shadow appeared directly above him. He gasped and jumped back away from him. A loud voice spoke from behind. 'There has been so much excitement lately it seems as though everything in our lives has changed!'

"When she awoke, the world was on fire…or so it goes by the words of Scott Westerfeld, Uglies…" The voice noted.

"But those are human books so how did someone from this world know such a thing?" Cardinal asked.

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Larrow laughed at Cardinal couldn't tell if he was amused or upset. 'Well, whatever his reasons for being here, I want to see him grow.' He thought to himself. 'It doesn't matter where or what he comes from, I'll still help him. If this world's wizards aren't willing to help us then it's fine by me'

The old man pulled out a sword with a huge grin on his face . "Let's make some new friends, shall we?" The blade began to glow bright orange and red.

"A sword?" Cardinal pondered.

"A sword that will help you see this world much better," He replied.

"Hey! HEY! HEY! ASSHOLE!" Eslie shouted.

Cardinal returned to reality and was taken aback when he realized that Elsie was standing in front of him. "Sorry, what?"

Elsie giggled "I was asking if you knew where your sword was?"

"If I knew that I wouldn't be here!" Cardinal noted.

"So– how are you and others able to hear those whispers thingy?" She asked.

"You mean you can't?" He replied.

"Nullifying isn't a gift…it's a curse and I haven't been able to find friends before now so I couldn't ask," She responded.

He didn't know what to say to her so he let it go and focused back on the conversation.

"I don't know where I lost it. It's probably hidden somewhere." He replied. "But I have the perfect place to start looking."

Elsie grinned excitedly. "What are you talking about?!" She laughed.

Cardinal jumped up before running despite the baggage on his back and the pain shooting up his legs. Elsie ran after them laughing in surprise before following along with him. They raced off to wherever they might find his sword.

A negative energy crawled slowly behind them all. The darkness crept up on their heels and pushed itself forward through the shadows as though eager to consume it whole. The darkness consumed their light and cast a gloomy gloom over everything surrounding them, including themselves.

Cardinal knew he would finally have to face the teru teru bōzu as it cornered them. He could hear the footsteps behind him, the sound of his own heart pounding against his chest and the breath rushing in and out of his lungs. He knew his fear was showing on his face, but he tried not to let it show. He didn't want them thinking less of him.

Cackling laughs in the distance could be heard. He tried to push his emotions down so they weren't there to distract him. They were the scariest noise anyone had ever made. He felt their presence behind him. His fear increased tenfold. He didn't have time to think.

"You really thought you could get away?" She shrieked.

The black figure once again made its appearance before them. Its body glowed bright like a blazing torch and the smell of rotten flesh was all too evident. The black smoke poured out from its nostrils leaving trails behind it. Its face was twisted with pure malice. Cardinal looked into the eyes, but he couldn't stop trembling; his legs almost gave up.

He had no sword this time, only holding rune stones in his hands. A part of him hoped that if he threw one of the runes it might somehow save him, but it wouldn't change the fact that he was unarmed.

"I am ready…" Cardinal said with resignation. He wasn't sure what exactly that meant, but it felt right at the moment.

"For me? You are such a disappointment. I suppose I will simply have to dispose of you myself." It laughed at the prospect before it started to charge towards them with great speed.

Cardinal threw a fire rune stone towards his opponent and the creature disappeared into the shadows before coming back again with even more force. He knew he should probably move, but he couldn't muster the strength to do anything other than to stand frozen in place. His legs began shaking with every step it took closer.

The woman pushed Spire harder than ever trying to make up for the slight disadvantage she had in her speed. She used her magic to propel herself forward through the air until she was within striking distance to him. Her blade swung forward in preparation for her attack. Cardinal saw a flash of silver and knew in his gut this time he was going to die.

"My sword!" Cardinal shouted happily.

"Shut up and die!" Lid yelled.

He connected her attack by holding his rune out causing her to be repelled by the force of his sword unable to keep it in between her fingers The blow sent a shock-wave of light through the space and caused her to fall down, unable to maintain balance.

Spire continued to fly forward with an insane amount of strength and speed as he approached Cardinal. Cardinal held out his hand again and summoned another rune, this time he cast a flame rune. The energy shot across the void at a breakneck rate until it hit Spire directly in the face. There was no visible reaction, except a slight puff of smoke.

"Fuck! I forgot…the gifted skill…Force Blazer!" He cheered.

The blade held hot in his hands started to glow brightly and he thrust forward with as much strength as he could muster. The force propelled Spire over Cardinal and he came crashing into him with enough force to send him tumbling backwards through the air. Spire crashed down onto Cardinal and the two of them fell together to the ground with a loud thud.

It screeched in pain as its head collided with the ground. It struggled to gain its bearings and look up at Cardinal who landed atop it. Spire lay next to him. Cardinal got up first, grabbing the fallen blade. Spire quickly followed suit before he realized the blood was in the opposite direction where Lid was.

He stood there frozen in confusion. Then it struck him. He didn't know how or why Lid lay dead in front of him and he didn't know what happened. The sword in his hand dropped out of his grasp.