Aclysia would have jumped back if she had the energy left to move in any meaningful ways. “Giz…mo…” she said, her charred lips unable to properly formulate a sentence.

“No, no,” the warlock shook his head, “the false one isn’t here, Aclysia, its only I, Apotho. The one who got locked away by his misplaced regret,” leaning on his stick, the old man slowly pushed himself up into a standing position. “How infinitely interesting that you too would so easily find your way back to me. People who have been here before must be able to penetrate the Field of Desire around this place more easily. I must admit that there were no people before who escaped to test this.”

There was a sting of relief when Aclysia realized that Apotho must have been right. After all, none of the people chasing her had suddenly entered behind her. Something she was doubly thankful for, since this meant that the warlock would receive no fuel for his continued life due to her attempt at freedom.

Apotho moved towards his house, returning shortly thereafter with a potion that he placed close to the inside of the barrier. The blue colour already gave away what it was, “a Mana Potion,” Apotho declared, looking down at the angel with his blue eyes. There was no pity inside them, only a calculating menace. “I would just throw it at you, but…” he raised a second, empty glass vial and threw it forwards. In a flash of green fire, that caused Aclysia to flinch from the recent memory of what the barrier had done her, the bottle was thrown back. “…as you can see, even this much is impossible for me.”

“Why would I trust you…?” Aclysia’s raspy voice reached out.

“Trust?” Apotho laughed at her with such blatant ridicule that his old body failed to keep up and caused him to harshly shift into a series of cough. Amusement was turned into irritation as the growled, “You see this frail form I have to put up with? There is no need to trust me, if you have half a brain you realize that I would have long absorbed you or that slime creature, when he was still alive, if I had the ability.” He prodded the sitting potion with the end of his cane. “Now drink, I am not having a talk with half a corpse.”

The ghastly manner with which that reminder was delivered was to the disliking of the metal fairy, but she was forced to agree. Slowly, she crawled towards the fence. Until the very last moment of her pulling the bottle back beyond the barrier, she doubted the earnest intentions of Apotho, but she had little choice in the matter.

Sip by sip of the mana potion, she healed herself. She was completely naked, only the ash of her own skin giving her the slightest amount of cover. The warlock stared at her with unveiled desire once she was completely recovered. It was such a stark contrast to the way Apexus had always looked at her. Apotho was simply interested in her body, blue eyes that stared with greed at thing he lusted for, the person behind that beautiful face beyond his interests.

Regardless, the greedy sinner had better things to do than waste his time wanting to use her body. As it was, he had no chance to do so anyway. “Now we can talk properly, little angel.”

Hiding as much of her as she could by sitting on the floor and angling her arms, Aclysia nodded. Now that her mind was no longer dominated by pain and panic, she could actually think about what Apotho had said so far. “I’m not the first one that recently visited you for the second time,“ she surmised, “you would not be able to guess that access is easier by just one person alone… and you knew that Apexus is… is dead…” Needing a moment to gulp and control her feelings, the metal fairy finally arrived at the conclusion, “Reysha was here?”

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“A little bit on the reaching side for the conclusion,” Apotho raised his eyebrows as if he was surprised. “However, accurate in this case. Indeed, your Ragressian friend was here. It was her wish for vengeance that opened her way to me.”

“What did you do to her?” Aclysia raised her voiced, glaring inquisitively at the trapped warlock.

“I sent her on the correct path, one that you’ll not be able to intercede in, little angel,” Apotho spoke true. Even if Aclysia was skeptical, she had nothing but his word to go by. “Is it vengeance that also brings you here?”

Opening her mouth to answer, Aclysia hesitated. In truth, it had been the desire to see Apexus again. Revenge was not what she truly and deeply cared for, although there were some she wished would be tormented by their actions. By lying, maybe she would be able to coerce the true plan from Apotho.

However, the wish to see him again had brought her here, which meant that Apotho had the ability to somehow enable this. Lying here could very well cost her the opportunity to see her love again.

There was nothing she wanted more in this world but to see him again. To hear his voice again. Feel him again. To silently sit with him under a moonlit sky again.

“Yes,” she said despite all of this, “I want vengeance.”

No matter how much she wanted to have Apexus back, making a pact with this murderous sinner for it would cost, with almost absolute certainty, more than she was willing to pay. More than she wanted Apexus to live knowing the cost for.

“Good,” Apotho grinned, then suddenly contorted, his whole body thrashing as if he was suffering a stroke.

“Acly…sia…” the old man’s voice was the same, but the tone desperate. “He lies… Vengeance is… cannot be your goal… Apexus… you can see him on the Day of the First Ascension.”

“He is alive?!” Aclysia jumped to her feet in excitement, no longer paying attention to her nudeness.

“Y...You can… see him… again…” the same words echoed. It wasn’t a confirmation to his life, at least not a certain one, he would have used other words if that were the case. At least, that was how Aclysia understood it.

“QUIET!” Apotho snapped control back from the split character. “Meddling fool, accusing me of lies,” the warlock stated, leaving Aclysia confused on the ground. “Listen, all that will be there is his core, being paraded around, it doesn’t matter. It’s just a corpse on cushions.” Aclysia felt as if her heart was being ripped out at that. It was too cruel to be true. Then again, what hadn’t been recently? “Reysha will be trying to assassinate the Cardinal on the Day of the First Ascension, at the very start of the ceremony, this is the only truth. I know not where she is hiding until then, but if you want vengeance, and nothing but vengeance, you will help her that day.”

“You… cannot…” Gizmo forced himself to the surface. “Reysha… will help this monster… The church, she’ll be at the church… North… she will be… north… the building... His own goals are....”

Apotho turned inwards to fight his meddling other side, while Aclysia thought. Gizmo was desperately trying to give her the full-picture, it was obvious the Warlock was lying, be it directly or by omission. The only things that she could trust were the words of the friendly old man that shared the same body. That those were so hacked off made interpretation difficult.

She would have to analyse this for several days before coming to a proper conclusion.

Apotho visibly relaxed, having retaken full-control of him. “Now, listen to me and me alone and listen careful-”

“I will not,” Aclysia stated outright and Apotho’s expression darkened. Being interrupted alone was enough to slight the master of dark arts, her disobedience only furthered his anger. “I will not sacrifice a single life to you or your plans,” she spread her wings and hovered off the ground. “I will stop Reysha and meet Apexus, you will not claim anything I care about.” With that she took off, hearing only a single angry roar behind her.

An angry roar that soon turned into another ridiculing giggle. “Ah, Gizmo, good Gizmo,” he spoke to himself with much amusement. “You may have access to my powers, but your reluctancy dulls your creativity.”