Patches stood tall and proud, staring at me with blue, hate filled eyes.

Evelyn, the Protector, knelt before him. Her kithara quills lay flat on her scalp. Her eyes glazed over as if under an enchantment. Flint huddled close by, cradling his staff and shivering, but whether from pain or fear, I couldn't tell.

All around them were dead villagers, their bodies piled atop of each other, ready for the pyre. One body stood out amongst all others. It was a woman with brown, unruly hair, her face was covered by blood and ash. Her eyes lifeless and staring up at the sky.

It was Sylvia.

The last time I had seen her, I'd promised that I'd come back alive. How could I have known that everything would fall apart?

Anger boiled within me, and I clenched my fists, digging my nails into my palms.

"Ah, Bastion Ward. Welcome home," Patches said, smiling at me. "I was hoping you'd return soon."

"You've lost your mind!" I shouted. "What have you done?"

He shook his head. "Not me. That honor goes to you. Without your grim determination, none of this would have been possible."

His words made no sense. How could this be my fault?

"Let the Protector go," I demanded, "or I'll make you regret it."

Patches laughed, showing a mouthful of pointed teeth.

"Your Protector and I have unfinished business, Bastion. She has something of mine, and I intend to take it."

He smiled and looked at Evelyn and with a flick of his wrist, his hand burst into green flames.

I didn't hesitate, I shot forward, drawing my dagger and lunging at Patches. I had only one thing on my mind. Revenge. This monster had killed my mother, my friends, my people.

But even with fifteen points in [Speed] I was too slow. Patches was a blur, appearing beside me and grabbing hold of my wrist, his sharp fingers digging into my flesh, and I felt the bones in my arm break. With a quick twist of his body, he threw me aside, sending me tumbling head over heels across the cobblestones.

I staggered to my feet and Patches raised his hand, and the next moment I felt invisible chains binding me in place and pinning me to the ground.

I looked up, trying to break free. Just then, the Protector's eyes met mine.

"Evelyn!" I screamed, struggling against the magic that held me captive.

The pyre crackled, and a log fell in the flames, sending sparks flying into the air.

A faint smile touched Evelyn’s lips, and I was sure she mouthed, 'I'm sorry'.

I tried to shout to stop her, but she closed her eyes, surrendering to her fate.

I watched helplessly as Patches plunged his burning hand into her chest. The flames licked at her skin hungrily.

Her quills stood on end for a moment and her cries rang out. With a final snap, the bones in her chest shattered, as power surged into her. Her eyes went blank and her body went limp.

Patches pulled his hand free, now holding a golden card between two fingers.

He smiled, studying the card with rapt attention.

The crow on Patches' shoulder cawed as it dropped from its perch. It landed on Evelyn's chest, pulling a quill out of her scalp and pecking at her head like a vulture.

I strained against my bonds with every ounce of strength, and watched in horror as an ear dangled from the crow’s beak.

As I struggled I felt the spell holding me down growing weaker. With a guttural roar, I threw all my energy into breaking free. The invisible chains strained against my power and then all at once they snapped.

I staggered to my feet. "What have you done!" I yelled, my voice echoing across the square.

Patches didn't even look up, he just held the card in front of him, laughing in delight.

"I'll kill you!" I yelled as I attacked, drawing on every point of stamina I had.

My blade flashed down toward his neck, but he stopped the attack with ease. He didn't even move his body, he just held out his hand and blocked my blow.

He swung his free arm and struck me with his elbow. I felt my ribs crack and was thrown backward. I hit the ground hard and tumbled through the rubble, finally coming to a stop next to Flint.

"Get up," Patches said, his voice low and commanding.

I pushed myself to my feet and reached into my deck, selecting a spell card, "Just die!" I yelled.

Poisonous projectiles launched from my fingertips, slamming into Patches, and a cloud of noxious fumes engulfed the card mage.

Green smoke spread in all directions, and Flint coughed and choked as the vapors drifted towards him.

I reached down to help my friend, but then I heard something that turned my blood cold.

Laughter.

"You're only making this harder on yourself, boy," Patches said as he emerged from the cloud completely unharmed.

"My foundation card is [Null Magic]," he said, "I am immune to all spell cards, including your [Unholy Pact]."

What the hell is that supposed to mean!

[Unholy Pact] had no effect on others, it simply brought me back to life each time I died.

Before I could complete the thought, Patches attacked.

***

Black lightning arced between Patches' outstretched fingers and raced through the air straight at my heart.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

I cast [Sky Shield] reflexively and a shimmering barrier of air appeared before me. I felt the air compress as the lightning hit the barrier, but instead of dissipating, the energy from the spell continued to build.

A crack appeared in the barrier, spreading slowly outward. The lightning grew stronger, and the crack became a jagged line. With a deafening boom, the barrier shattered, and the remaining energy slammed into my chest.

I screamed as my muscles convulsed, and the smell of burning flesh filled the air.

Patches laughed, "You have tricks," he said. "So do I."

He pressed the palms of his hands onto the ground. Green light flared, and a translucent hand made of pure magic shot out of the dirt.

"Watch out," Flint cried.

But I was too weak to move. The magical hand closed around my body, and I felt my ribs breaking.

"Why are you doing this?" I ask, gasping for breath. "What did we ever do to you?"

"It's nothing personal, my boy," Patches said, his voice loud and raspy. "Just a simple transaction. I gave something to your Protector, and now I am taking it back."

"You're a monster," I seethed. "You killed my mother and family. You burned down our village! Just for a spell card?!"

Patches shook his head, "I didn't kill any of them. That was all you. You brought this upon yourself."

"No," I screamed. "You killed Tommelkins and brought him back to life, so he could assassinate the Protectors. You wanted the barrier down. This is your fault!"

Patches tilted his head and watched me for sometime, a thin line spread across his face.

"It's a pity you can't read the old tongue," he said. "Or you’d have known that [Unholy Pact] has a simple ability, can you guess what that is?"

The demonic hand tightened, the water skin in my backpack burst and my ribs creaked under the pressure.

"To bring someone back to life," I managed to gasp.

Patches’ face twisted in a broad grin, "No matter what world you are in, magic always demands an even trade. Each time you die, you are resurrected, but someone that is linked to you has to die in your place."

It felt like my world had just come crashing down around me. My breath quickened, my heart raced.

"You liar!" I screamed, but my words had no conviction in them.

It can't be. That can't be the side effect.

Patches chuckled, his expression growing colder, darker. "I must say, I did underestimate how much you’d enjoy dying."

He spread his hands, "Infernal flames, my boy, you must have died a hundred times, almost bled this village dry."

Did I do this?

My Clanslayer title for killing 90% of a settlement finally made sense. It wasn't the scorpions… it was my own people.

Patches laughed, the sound echoing around the silent market square. "But it did the trick, my boy, the Protectors are dead, and the barrier is down. So for that I thank you."

He bowed to me and flourished his hand like a performer on stage.

"I'll kill you," I said through gritted teeth. "I’ll send your moldy corpse to hell."

Patches stepped towards me, the demon hand tightening its grip on my throat, its nails digging into my skin.

Blood ran down my neck, dripping down my naked chest.

"Oh, but I’m already there," he said, as his hand burst into green flames. "I think I'll take back my card now."

A part of me wanted it to end, to give up. To surrender myself, and let the darkness claim me. If I let him take the card, I'd die and the pain and guilt I felt would be gone.

That would be the easy way out. I deserved death, but I could still save Flint, and that single thought kept me from giving in to the dark.

"Try and take it," I said.

I searched my mind for a way out. A spell, knowledge from Earth, something we could use to escape.

"I'm going to enjoy this," he said as he ran his finger down my chest.

Green flames sliced through skin, penetrating my soul.

I looked down at the ivy tattoo on my chest, seeing over a hundred thorns growing out of the vine. Each one represented someone that had died in my place.

Flint stirred in the corner of my vision, and my eyes flickered to the movement.

Don't do it, he'll kill you.

My attention snapped back to Patches as the flames licked at my skin, blistering and burning, as his hand reached for my foundation card.

"NO!" I screamed in defiance.

I flicked through the cards in my mind. [Sky Shield], [Toxic Barrage] and [Rootbound Bison], none of them would help.

"Do you know why I chose you?" Patches asked.

I opened my mouth, ready to reply, but nothing came out.

"Because you were so desperate to prove yourself," he continued, ignoring my silence. "So desperate to be a hero. You never stopped to question the power because secretly you already knew the answer."

"No!" I shouted as the green fire shot up, engulfing me in its rage.

It ripped through my body, tugging at my foundation card.

"Leave him," Flint said, his voice hoarse.

Using his staff like a crutch, he slowly rose to his feet.

Patches’ attention was momentarily drawn away, and it gave me the opening I needed.

I popped an [Etherix] and energy surged into my being. I lunged forward, using my temporary boost in stats to brute force my way out of the demon hold. I drew my dagger and in the same motion I slashed at Patches’ face.

His eyes widened, and he raised his hands to block my attack, but instead of continuing the attack, I changed direction and dove into Flint, and selected my last card.

[Pilgrim's Rest]

"Hold on," I breathed.

I had no idea what was about to happen, but anything was better than remaining where we were.

Pain burst through every part of my body as Patches attacked us both, his demon hand digging its claws into me. I tried to scream, but blood bubbled up into my mouth, drowning out the sound.

A low, resonating hum filled the air, gradually growing in intensity, until it vibrated through my bones and into Flint.

My mind swam, and the world blurred, but I held onto the spell, and we tumbled into darkness.

As the flames burnt into my soul, I felt another presence. I reached into my stomach and grabbed hold of my navel. It tugged, pulling us inside out.

In a moment, I was floating above the marketplace, seeing the hatred in Patches’ glowing blue eyes.

And then I saw a griffin with two riders on its back, they were drawing nearer. One of them was shouting something.

There was a flash of light and a crackle of thunder as the spell took hold of us, and the next instant we were gone.

***

Nidalee perched atop the griffin’s back stared in horror at the ruined village. From her height, she could see the bodies that littered the streets and smell the burnt flesh and smoldering ashes of the homes that had been reduced to cinders. She had seen this all in her vision, but nothing could have prepared her for the reality of what Bastion had wrought.

Malachi, his expression hard as stone, pulled the reins, directing Nocturne to land, but just then a bright light emanated from the center of the village. Nidalee recognized it as the same light from her vision, and her heart began to race. She knew that this was it, that Bastion was down there.

"Hurry, Malachi!" she yelled, but he was already urging the griffin into a dive.

Nocturne's wings sliced through the air as they plunged toward the village square, the force of the wind pulling tears from Nidalee's eyes. She could feel the tension in her stomach as the ground rushed to meet them, and she could hear the griffin's powerful talons striking the cobblestones with a loud scrape.

They landed in the village square just in time to see Bastion and Flint vanishing in a flash of light.

As the magical light dissipated, Nidalee's gaze fell on someone she'd thought long dead. Gothos, the man that had lived in her village, trained her, and was loved by each one of them.

He was alive!

She had not seen this in her vision.

Gothos raised his hand, his patchwork cloak billowing in the wind. There was a dark gleam in his eye, and the air around him crackled with energy.

"Gothos is that you?" Nidalee shouted.

"My master has returned," Malachi said, his voice trembling with emotion.

Nidalee could feel the power in the air, a tangible force that threatened to crush them. She clung to Malachi as Nocturne struggled against the invisible bonds, his wings beating the air furiously.

"The guardian can no longer hide from us," Gothos said, his blue eyes focusing on something in his hand. "Finally, it is in our reach."

"Master!" Malachi shouted.

Gothos looked up, meeting his disciple's eyes, "It seems fate is on our side," he said, as a smile spread across his face.

***