“The central spire of Sitea, ancestral home of the Scarlet Sorceress.” Kainen said.

“Yep.” Albert replied, looking at the small gleaming tip of black metal, barely visible behind a tall hill. “What remains of it, at least.”

“You know it?” Kainen asked, chuckling. From their position deep in a valley between the two hills, it was not evident that the central spire was broken.

“I mean, where would the Scarlet Witch live if not in the central spire, Kainen?” Albert said, with a smile that did not reach his eyes.

Kainen cringed at the name, it was wrong on purpose.

“Come on.” Albert said. “It’s not like she can hurt you. She’s dead, isn’t she?”

Kainen hummed, and broke eye contact. Suddenly, he was feeling quite uneasy. Something had changed, but he could not figure out what. It didn’t matter, not this close to being free from Albert’s very presence. He was immune to his mind control, he had been for a while now, but Albert remained far too powerful to be left alive.

And killing him would propel Kainen to such heights of power that his younger self could not even dream about them. Just imagining what he could do with the powers Albert wielded made his mouth salivate. He could barely contain his impatience.

But he needed to be careful. He could not afford to slip up. Not this close to executing his plan. Doing what he wanted to do required carefully crafted conditions.

“There is still a long way until we reach the city.” He said as he walked ahead. The sound of the rushing river to their left masked some of the words, but neither of the two had any trouble understanding even muttered speech.

Albert did not reply. Glancing behind his back, Kainen noticed that the kid was looking up the slopes of a nearby mountain, where small black dots were moving about in the snow near its peak. Muttering things about Lithoids, voice full of wonder.

For a moment, the former guild master wondered if the uneasiness he had felt when talking to the kid had been a figment of his own imagination. Seeing him look around like a child in wonder, he realized that indeed there was nothing to fear from the boy, even though Albert was no longer a boy. Sometimes, there was a coldness to Albert’s eyes that put Kainen on edge. It didn’t matter. Soon it would all be over.

Slowly, Kainen let Albert take the lead. The path was clear, following the river until they left the valley and the city came into full view.

“I need to take a piss.” Kainen said, shrugging. “I’ll catch up. Don’t wait for me.”

Albert grunted. “Fine.” He said. He stopped for a moment, looking ahead. Kainen felt his breath catch in his throat.

“Is everything okay?” He asked. The kid was staring at empty air in front of his, except, Kainen knew… the shield was there.

“Of course.” Albert said. “You go on, don’t worry about me.”

Seeing the kid flash him a smile, Kainen approached the river. As soon as he was out of sight he changed course, no longer making for the water but carefully shadowing the kid without giving himself away.

The shield that protected Sitea lay only a few meters in front of Albert. Had Hyvrlat’s not told him the exact location of the invisible wall of energy, he was sure he would have dived headfirst into it, fooling his plan. But now, there was no such risk.

Albert walked onwards. His steps were careless and quick, as if he could not wait to reach the city in the distance. It made sense. It was his goal all along, his ticket back home. Except, Kainen knew, it would also be the doom of all he knew. The end of his world. He could not allow that.

Albert glanced at the glimmering black shard in the sky, what remained of the tower at the center of the city. Kainen too had only seen the sight for the first time today, but it took more than a pretty tower to impress him. He had seen things in his travels, after all.

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Then, almost anticlimactically, it happened. Kainen was still musing about his travels when Albert hit the wall and dropped to the ground, like a sack of potatoes. His body convulsed, and Kainen wasted no time before he leapt out of his cover and crossed the distance between the two in the blink of an eye.

When he reached the body of the kid, still ravaged by the energies of the shield, he did not hesitate. He produced a knife, and plunged it in the kid’s chest, piercing his heart, searching for his core. Then, for good measure, he also stabbed Albert in the eye, making sure the blade reached the brain, and twisted.

Silence.

Nothing seemed to move. Even the rush of water of the river was far away. Kainen’s heartbeat was in his throat. He had done it. The shield crippled Albert, and he took the chance to kill the kid. It all happened so quickly, so effortlessly.

So… easy. Now, all he needed to do was extract the core and consume it himself.

A slow clap reverberated through the whole valley. The source, his senses told Kainen, was right behind him. He jumped to his feet at the first clap, rotating in the air and facing the threat from behind his tower shield.

“Congratulations, you are a shithead.” The figure said. It had Albert’s voice.

But— Kainen wasted a fraction of a second looking down, and where the dead body of the kid should have been, only pristine mountain grass could be seen. Not a trace of the pool of blood that had stained it remained.

“An illusion.” Kainen grunted. “Clever. You sensed the shield, somehow. But that doesn’t change anything.”

The kid walked a few paces towards him, but did not hurry. After all, Kainen was very keenly aware of the power Albert possessed, and even though the kid used it like an idiot, power was still power.

A faint reflection of sunlight only visible to Kainen almost made him look away. He smiled. Power was power, yes. However, so confident in his own power as he was, Albert would fail. Kainen had come prepared.

“Just surrender.” The kid said. “What can you do? If you take even just one step, I’m going to brainwash you so hard you won’t even remember your name.”

Kainen was sure it was true. Albert would do it. It would not work, but he would do it. He did not take a step. “I guess I did underestimate you.” He said.

“You did, in fact—”

Kainen dashed. The incredible power he produced allowed him to close the distance in a heartbeat. Albert’s eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to speak in a panic.

“Stop.”

Kainen stilled.

The kid breathed in relief. He shook his head. “It’s no use.”

Albert’s eyes went wide in shock when, too late, he realized what Kainen’s own eyes were tracking. A shadow appeared from behind a boulder, moving impossibly fast, and it shot towards him. In a fluid motion, the shadow stabbed him in the back, shot an arrow and turned to flee.

Albert turned, thinking that the former guild master was immobilized by his mental command and raised a hand. The shadow stumbled, and resolved itself in the shape of a forest high elf. He was lifted off the ground and brought centimeters from Albert’s face.

Albert looked at Hyvrlat’r in disgust. “I should have known.” He spat.

But Kainen had never been under the influence of the command, having consumed the miraculous root Hyvrlat’r had stolen from his village. He had merely pretended to be immobilized, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. The moment had arrived. He dashed.

Albert locked eyes with him, seemingly having sensed his approach behind his back. “Sto—”

Albert did not finish his sentence. The elf had freed himself from Albert’s grasp and an arrow sprouted from the boy’s throat, strangling the words before they could be spoken, and a fountain of blood erupted where the arteries had been cut.

Suddenly Albert started to move incredibly quickly, but it didn’t matter. Kainen knew of his time abilities and was onto him. With his superior power he did not allow the kid to heal himself. In fact, he did not allow the kid to even remove the arrow sticking out of his neck, immediately pressuring him.

His sword fell like a judgement blade. Hyvrlat’r had freed himself and struck from behind, shooting arrow after arrow at the boy, scoring hit after hit.

Albert fell to the ground, immobile. This time, Kainen did not risk approaching until he was sure it was not an illusion. But both his senses and his magic seemed to confirm that it was not.

“Is he dead?” Kainen asked.

“He’s not.” Hyvrlat’s, suddenly standing next to him, crouched down. “One of my arrows severed his spine. He can’t move. And unless he pulls it out, he can’t heal the damage either.”

Indeed, Albert was glowing green every few seconds, but his condition did not seem to improve. Gargling sounds escaped his lips, but no words formed. The coordinated attack had rendered him useless and harmless.

“That’s good.” Kainen grinned. “Now, let’s kill him for good and get out of here.”

Kainen crouched down. A manic grin spread through his face, contorting his features until his face was barely recognizable.

“Well,” he said, mockery and hate dripping from his voice. “You really made me work up a sweat for this. But I can’t say it wasn’t worth it. You were my ticket back to power, after all. And now, with you dead, the world will finally be rid of this shit mind magic once and for all.”

Kainen grasped his dagger. Shadows coated its surface, and the pulsed and swirled around the edge of the blade like they were alive.

“Stay down this time, kid.” Kainen said. “The world is cruel, and what I am doing is mercy.”