“...ze…” A voice called to her, “Lieze…”

She awoke with a headache that felt like a stake being driven through her forehead. She couldn’t have been closer to death if she tried - a fact confirmed by the notification unfolding in the space between her face and Drayya’s.

Specialisation ‘Death Defying’ Activated! Total Damage Taken: 2,099 Thralls Sacrificed: 31

“Lieze.” Lüngen’s wrinkled visage hovered into view, “Drink this.”

With no reason to refuse his request, she opened her mouth. The bitterness of the potion’s extracts were muted upon her tongue, but the effects were no less potent. She felt her strength returning immediately, able to sit up just a few seconds later.

In the time it took her to heal, she noticed the devastation surrounding them. Entire swathes of the city had been levelled by the Head Shaman’s Heavenly Favour. The alleyway she found herself in was tilted, as if pressed down on one side, with Drayya supporting Lieze’s body with her own to prevent it from rolling away. Staring down the crumbling flat leading towards what remained of the streets, Lieze could only imagine the sort of labyrinth that awaited her beyond the darkness and fog.

With some help, she stood, “...That wasn’t ideal.”

“How did you survive that!?” Drayya blinked, “I saw you being launched into the air by one of those eruptions! Not that I’m complaining, mind you - I’m just astonished.”

“I’m not certain that I did.” She replied, “-But that doesn’t matter right now. Where’s the rest of the army? Did you manage to chase the Head Shaman down?”

Only the Grotesques had been spared from the attack. Lieze could still hear them fluttering nearabouts the canopy, no doubt embroiled in a tense battle with the assassins lingering above.

“Roland is trying to gather the surviving Deathguards.” Drayya said, “The Elves retreated towards the palace when those eruptions started. Quite a few necromancers survived, but we lost most of our thralls.”

“How many?” Lieze asked.

“There are… maybe a thousand left? Just under that? Enough to put up a fight, but Lüngen tells me we’ll lose all of them if we try to push towards the palace. It’s a risky endeavour.”

From her words, Lieze deduced that the Head Shaman had attempted to spare as many Elves as possible. One thousand thralls was more than she could have ever dreamed of commanding once upon a time, but it was a middling number compared to the horde of Rootborne summoned to the Black City’s aid. She could hear them, also - rattling their way through the destroyed streets, seeking her head.

“...We’re suddenly on the back foot.” Lieze summarised, “-But I never intended for us to eradicate every opponent during this battle. We’ve been placed in a fortuitous position. All that remains is to make the most of it.”

“Why do I get the strange feeling that you’re about to suggest something ridiculous?” Drayya folded her arms.

“The Elves need to be distracted, or at least have their attention drawn away from the palace.” She began, “If we scrounge up every last thrall, that won’t be a problem. Once the battle has resumed in earnest, I’ll take advantage of the commotion to sneak into the palace and face the Head Shaman on my own terms.”

She reached into her Bag of Holding, sensing that Drayya was about to ask exactly how she planned on accomplishing such an impossible task. The ornate [Circlet of Master Teleportation] was an artefact she’d made scarce use of, but its power was uniquely suited to her needs at that exact moment. The main limiting factor was the tremendous [2,000] MP cost to use it. Before, it had always guaranteed a day of [Mana Burnout], but Lieze’s maximum MP was now more than capable of handling a single use, and she could supplement the loss with mana potions.

“I’ll use this.” She said, “The spell only specifies that I’m aware of my destination, and while I’ve never seen what the palace looks like, I assume it has a front door of some sort. All I have to do is specify that I’d like to be teleported to the main entrance, and then I’ll be able to sneak in behind the Elven army’s back.”

Drayya frowned, “You’ll be alone.”

“No.” She shook her head, “Not if you lend me Fudge.”

“Aha - so the name did grow on you after all!” An accusing finger was pointed her way, “See, I know you just as well as you know yourself, Lieze. You can pretend to ignore Fudge’s cuteness all you like, but I knew your guard would eventually drop.”

“It’s not a bad name.” Lieze admitted, “It’s not what I would have chosen.”

“You would have called her something silly like Blackdeath or Razorcat. You’ve got no subtlety.”

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

“Can I take the damn cat or not?”

“You’d better!” Drayya placed both hands on Lieze’s shoulders, “I don’t like sending you in after the Head Shaman on your own! We’ll be too busy battling the Elves to help you!”

“We have to work within our means.” She replied, “I can kill him. I promise you that.”

A beat passed. Drayya stepped back, uncertain of her next words, “...And then what?”

“Then… then it’s over.” She said, “The Sages told me they’d find a way to contact me once all the Scions were defeated. I can only assume it will happen right away, so the Head Shaman’s death is all that matters.”

“Lieze.”

She turned her head to spot Lüngen resting his back against a crumbling monolith, attempting to light a final shaving of tobacco with a flame burning on his fingertip.

“If that’s what you want to do, then this is most likely the last time we’ll ever exchange words.” He explained, “Drayya is too proud to tell you that, and you’re too single-minded to notice it. If I didn’t speak up, the two of you would have parted without saying your farewells.”

Farewell.

That single word affected Lieze more than she cared to admit. Armed with the knowledge of her finality, the look upon Drayya’s face took on a new meaning. She wasn’t merely concerned, but reluctant to separate knowing full-well they would never meet again. The idea - as it took root within Lieze’s heart and flowered - instilled within her a sudden dislike for the plan.

“That’s…” She lowered her head, “Yes… I suppose you’re right.”

“I’ve already said everything that needs to be said.” Finally having some luck with his pipe, Lüngen peeled himself off the wall and turned his back, “These old bones are ready for whatever fate has in store for them. With the two of you as close as you are, and with the Order under your control, I have no regrets worth telling. I’ll flee from my overbearing perch this one time and leave the two of you to your devices.”

“Lüngen!” Not quite of her own volition, Lieze found herself calling after him, “Wait…”

He turned his head, “...Is there something you’d like to say?”

“If this is the last time we’re going to see one-another… then, let me tell you this much, at least!” She began, “I never… Sokalar was never… he wasn’t my father! Those afternoons the three of us spent in the archives; reading, studying, listening… the way you guided us through our childhoods, our adolescence - the time we spent together… to me, that was…”

She found her own words lacking, ashamed that the freedom she’d earned from Sokalar still hadn’t affected her apathy. She had so much to say, but none of the character - the humility - to endure it. Even at the end of her journey, she was still a shell of a human being.

Lüngen, at least, knew enough about Lieze to spare her the effort. Much like in those days, his smile was warm, “You needn’t trouble yourself, Lieze. I understand.”

“Yes… I know.” She nodded, “Thank you, Lüngen. For everything.”

And with that, he departed from the alleyway. It wasn’t the most sombre or satisfying of farewells, but for the two of them, it was enough. As Lieze watched him vanishing into the fog, a pair of arms slid over her shoulders and interlinked. When Drayya spoke, her words were near-inaudible, as if afraid of being overheard.

“The end always arrives faster than we’d like.” She said, “Just once, I’d like the freedom to run away from my problems. But if there was ever an opportunity to put this life behind me, I missed it long ago, and now it’s too late to entertain the thought. As always, things can never be simple.”

“...Would you leave if I gave you permission?” Lieze asked.

“Not if you didn’t come with me.” She answered, “-And I know you wouldn’t. But that’s fine. Being here is more than enough for me. The thought of it all ending is what worries me the most. Now I’m stuck here with nothing to say for myself, disappointed that our last farewell isn’t nearly as dramatic as I hoped it would be.”

“That’s true… there’s nothing left to be said - nothing that hasn’t been said already, that is.” Lieze lowered her head, “I wish things could have been simpler, too. I learned to despise life from an early age, but this newfound freedom of mine has revealed just how interconnected the forces of life and death truly are. There is beauty to be found in both. But for as long as we remain chained to this cosmic fate, true ‘beauty’ cannot exist. Shattering those chains is a long and difficult path… but it is the path worth taking.”

“I wish that didn’t sound so reasonable.” Drayya paused, “...I don’t really want this to end. Our time together. Is that wrong of me to say?”

“No. It’s only human to dwell on what could have been. We covet what we can never possess - that is not weakness, but a natural extension of our beastly natures. Moving forward in spite of that sorrow is the virtuous path.”

“Virtue…” Lieze could hear Drayya’s lips curling into a smile, “Aren’t we supposed to be necromancers?”

“The Order’s intention was never to spread misery. We only seek the perfection of death. Under Sokalar, that dogma was twisted into something meaningless. But now… I feel as if this burden of ‘evil’ is all in the name of a better world.”

“We could go back and forth like this for hours.” She replied, “I wouldn’t mind that at all. But we don’t have the time. I understand what Lüngen is always going on about in his old age now. None of us ever have enough time to satisfy ourselves.”

“Then…” Lieze fumbled over her next words, “Do you have anything left to tell me?”

“Somehow… no. Not at all.” She answered, “I’m in love with you - but I suppose you already knew that. I did everything for your attention. My love was mangled - became something horrible as we separated, but now… I can’t find it in me to feel upset about parting ways. Unless you end up failing at the last moment, that is.”

“Don’t even joke about that.”

“Sorry, sorry.” Her breath tickled Lieze’s neck, “...I suppose that’s it? How do you end conversations like this?”

“I don’t think there is an ending. That’s why we’re always left unsatisfied.”

“Well… let me be the one to walk away, then. I still have to catch up with Roland and the others.” Reluctantly, the two separated, “We’ll make sure you have your chance to enter the palace.”

“I’m counting on you.” Lieze nodded, “Uhm… goodbye, Drayya.”

Drayya smiled unhappily, “Goodbye, Lieze.”