Days passed with Flint and I locked away in our cell, eating whatever scraps were brought to us by the faithful.

I told Flint all about my encounter with the high priest. He was pissed off that I hadn't woken him at all. He wasn't upset because the high priest had threatened our lives, but because he had missed his chance to see his first horned zorin.

We didn't see the high priest or the priestess at that time, nor any of the guards that patrolled the area, but we heard their voices through the walls at night.

There were some bits of information we were able to glean from snippets of their conversations. Like the fact that we were still on the genesis floor, on a mountain called Zenith’s End. It wasn't much to go by, but it was enough to start formulating a plan.

We knew the first step would have to be winning over the priestess. We needed her help to escape. At any point we could have broken out, but we’d have been forced to fight and possibly kill the guards to escape. That wasn't a step I was willing to take, I already had too much blood on my hands, and I hadn't the stomach for more.

After our escape, we'd make our way to Galefang Peak. If Nidalee and Malachi had been telling the truth, we'd find Stormclaw waiting for us at the top of the mountain.

Killing the floor boss would open the way to the second floor. From there, we'd grow stronger and ascend to the very top of the Tower and claim the wish card, with it, we'd set things right.

"When you die, what determines whose life is taken in your place?" Flint asked one morning while we ate breakfast.

"There's no guarantee that my card is actually killing people," I said. "It's just something Patches told me, he could be lying."

Flint frowned, "Let's say it is real, what would the conditions be for someone’s life to be taken in your place?"

"I guess I would just have to know the person," I said.

Flint scratched his chin, "If people are dying then we need to know who dies," he said, "and if there is a way of predicting it."

"If it's random," I said, "then there's no way to predict who dies."

Flint shook his head, "There has to be a pattern. The Tower works in an orderly way, I can't imagine random chance being a part of it."

I wasn't convinced, but I couldn't come up with a better explanation. "Why does it matter? We don't even know it's a real thing."

Flint snorted derisively, "Because if we are going to reach the top, then you are going to die along the way."

I blinked, "That's not part of the plan. It could kill you next time."

Flint looked up at me, "Not if you meet a bunch of new people along the way. The more people you know, the smaller the chance of me dying."

"That's pretty dark. I’d be putting other people's life at risk."

"Everywhere we go you need to meet the bad people," he continued, "criminals and such, learn their names, their hobbies, hell, find out what they like for breakfast. You never know what the selection process is."

"You want to dilute your chances of death, is that it?" I asked.

He glared at me, "Of course. You'll be our meat shield fighting on the front lines, and I'll support you. Oh, and we are going to need to bring that healer along, or at least her cards."

"What," I stammered. "We can't take them from her. She's one of the good guys."

"No such thing as a good guy in here," he said. "That zorin high priest is coming back soon, and when he does, he won't be asking for your spell card, he will take it by force."

I said nothing, the thought had occurred to me as well, and I didn't have the words to argue.

"I'll go along with your plan," I finally said, "but we're not hurting the priestess."

"Fair enough," he said, "but we sure as shit can't leave here without her or her card, not if we plan to reach the top of the Tower."

***

I went to bed that night and as usual I dreamt about Misty Hollow. In my dreams, I saw little Penny, standing beside her zombie mother. Her hair was long and black, her face pale as death. I watched as she drew a knife from a leather sheath and held it to her chest.

"You've killed everyone I love," she said, "And left me all alone."

She turned to face me, "Everyone! All those who cared about me, all my friends and family..."

As I pleaded with her to stop, she raised the blade high above her head, ready to plunge it into her stomach, "You have taken everything I love."

I tried to move, but my feet were sinking into quicksand.

"Don't!" I yelled.

As the knife fell, a hand came out of nowhere, catching Penny’s arm. I looked up to find Nidalee, standing over us.

"Where are you, Bastion?" she asked, her eyes searching mine.

I stared at her for a moment, she seemed so real, so solid.

"Tell me where you are," she repeated, "tell me now."

"I'm in a temple."

A hand grasped my shoulder, shaking me awake.

"Which temple?" she asked.

I opened my eyes, blinking in the darkness, trying to remember where I was.

Flint had his hand over my mouth, keeping me quiet.

"What," I whispered.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"Shhh," he said, "Someone's at the door."

The door opened a crack and a hand tossed something into the room, then quickly closed it again.

The object rolled across the floor, coming to a stop at the base of the wall. It was a small egg.

"What the hell?" I whispered.

The egg cracked open, and a pungent odor filled the room. It smelled like some herb, mixed with something acrid. I gagged, covering my nose and mouth.

My blood raced through my veins. My heart pounded in my ears, and my breathing quickened.

"It's poison," I said, as realization dawned.

The smoke billowed up from the egg, spreading out and filling the room.

"They are going to come for us," I said, drawing my dagger.

The room began to spin. Blood dripped from my nose, and my eyes watered.

"We have to fight them," I said, staggering toward the door.

Something hit the ground hard, and I saw Flint slump to the floor, the egg clutched tightly in his hands.

"Flint?" I called out, kneeling beside him.

I reached out for him and found he was already out cold.

"Shit," I said.

I had a bad feeling this was a fight we weren't going to win.

My vision blurred, and I blinked several times and even as I did, I saw the door open, spilling light into the room. A horned figure stood in the doorway, his features indistinct.

My vision faded, and I was swallowed by the darkness.

***

The room around me slowly came back into focus and just as it did a fist collided with my jaw. My head flung back, and my mouth filled with blood.

I raised my hands to shield my face and a boot connected with my stomach and I groaned in pain, rolling onto my side.

I lay there panting for breath. The pain was intense, sharp and piercing, but I couldn't seem to summon the energy to move. More blows came one after another, leaving me dazed and confused.

I heard voices, but I couldn't understand their words.

Then, suddenly, the attack stopped.

"Enough," a deep voice commanded.

The pain subsided, and I found myself lying on the cold stone floor.

I looked around and saw two men standing over me, each holding a knife.

"You don't want to kill me," I said, struggling to rise, "trust me you'll regret it."

"Is that meant to be a threat?" one of the men sneered, raising his knife.

I glared at him, "More like a warning."

One of the men lunged at me.

I popped an [Etherix] and felt new energy burst into my body like I'd been struck by lightning. Every nerve ending felt like it was on fire, every muscle tensed, and my eyesight sharpened.

It was like the attacker was moving in slow motion. I cast [Sky Shield] and the knife slammed into the solid shield of air, and I heard the crunch as the man's wrist snapped.

The man fell back, clutching his broken hand, cursing and screaming in pain. The second man attacked with a flurry of blows, and I easily dodged each one.

He swung his fist and I ducked under it, then jabbed him hard in the throat. As he gurgled for air, I followed up with a roundhouse kick that caught him in the ribs, and he staggered and fell.

"You'll have to do better than that," I said.

I could see the fear in the men's eyes, but the high priest, standing by the door, seemed unperturbed.

I reached for my dagger, to end the fight, and realized it was gone.

I glanced at the high priest and noticed a familiar knife clutched in his hands, my knife.

"Are you going to give me what I want?" the high priest asked, stepping forward.

I stared at him for a moment, the question echoing through my mind.

Give him what he wants. He wanted my spell card, my power.

I wiped sweat from my forehead, "I'm tired," I said, "are we done for the night or would you like to keep negotiating?"

The high priest's smile faltered for a second, "It seems I will have to take that card from you the hard way."

"No," I said, stepping towards him, "You won't."

The corners of the priest's lips curled into a snarl, and he raised his staff, but instead of aiming it at me, he pointed at Flint, still unconscious on the bed.

"Rift Bolt," the priest hissed, and a ball of searing energy shot toward Flint.

"No," I screamed, moving faster than I ever had before.

The bolt struck me square in the chest with a deafening explosion of power.

The room blurred as the spell violently teleported Flint and me backwards through some sort of rift in space.

The sensation was disorienting, like being torn apart and reassembled in the blink of an eye. My surroundings shifted and warped, and I struggled to regain my bearings as I tumbled through the void.

Finally, with a deafening thud, we crashed into the wall, disoriented and battered.

Flint groaned next to me, struggling to his feet.

"What the hell happened?" he asked, looking around the room.

I was just as confused as he was.

How did we get here?

I shook my head, trying to clear the fog from my brain.

The room was a mess, the furniture was broken and scattered across the floor, the ceiling was cracked and caved in, and the smell of burnt flesh lingered in the air.

Father Rakanar chuckled, "A priest always has to have a trick up his sleeve, what with all this evil about."

I opened one eye, and saw that the priest was standing next to us, looking down at me with a smug expression on his face.

"I suggest you start thinking about what's really important," he said. "This was just a warm-up, next time we negotiate, I might not play so nice."

***

As we laid there catching our breath, Flint laughed, the sound echoing through the tiny room.

"What's funny?" I said, glaring at me.

"We just saw a real life zorin," he said. "The gods must be smiling down on us. This is going to work out perfectly."

I stared at him blankly. "You must have been knocked on the head."

He leaned closer to me, "That zorin is a card mage, you know what that means, right?"

"It means he's an asshole with power," I said.

"Yes, but he also has a foundation card."

My eyes widened. "You could use one of those."

"The fact that he's an asshole means we can do whatever it takes to get the card from him," Flint said.

I considered his words, it felt a bit too much like what Patches had done to Evelyn. I wasn't sure I was ready to become that person, not yet at least.

"There must be another way," I said.

"No," Flint said. "If we are going to reach the top of the Tower, we need to be ruthless. We need to do whatever it takes, and if that means torturing this zorin, then so be it."

I stared at him, unsure of what to say.

"Look," Flint continued. "I'm not saying we have to enjoy it, but sometimes, sacrifices have to be made."

"I guess so," I muttered.

"Right now, our life is just a game," Flint said. "We are going to reset everything once we have the wish card, so what we do right now doesn't really matter."

The thought was strangely comforting. If we were planning to reset it all once we reached the top, then the end really did justify the means.

I sighed, knowing that he was right, but still not liking it.

"Alright," I said, nodding. "But first, we need to win over the priestess and get our relic weapons back. After that, we can figure out how we're getting that card."

Flint nodded, "I hope you're ready to turn on that charm of yours to win her over."

I rolled my eyes, "What charm?"

Flint shrugged, "You have that wounded puppy thing going for you, it makes people want to give you stuff."

I scoffed, "What the hell are you talking about?"

Flint laughed, "That's the look I'm talking about," he said, grinning, "Just keep looking all lost and confused, woman eat that shit up."

I sighed, "You know there is something very wrong with you, don't you?"

***