Meera stepped out of the Gateway Mirror, and it was dark still. The two guards were exactly in the same spot where she had left them—leaning against their spears, trying not to fall asleep. It worked out well for her as she strolled on by to the city gates.

The city was asleep at this time of night. The conversation with Narikas had left a bad taste in her mouth. Just when I started thinking he was a good man, he pulled this. I could've been heading towards Neel by now.

She would've given him a piece of her mind if she didn't need the information in his head. Regardless of all that, she still felt terrible for Narikas. His condition, all that pain he goes through every moment, reminded her of her mother. She had a similar condition from a pain standpoint, and her end was not nice. Thinking of her mom brought tears to her eyes. At least she had no evil spirit trying to take her over.

She walked through the city gates and turned to the street where the Warden's resided. She didn't even want to think about how to explain this to the Wardens and hoped Dirik had made some appropriate excuses.

She remembered that she had a notification waiting for her from that Blazer, whose hand she had split open.

*ding!*

[Congratulations. Identify has reached Level 8. You can now Identify people up to ninety levels higher than you.]

*ding!*

[Congratulations. Identify has reached Level 9. You can now Identify people up to a hundred levels higher than you.]

*ding!*

[Class Ability Activated. You have stolen the skill Pyrokinetic Weaponry. Pyrokinetic Weaponary – Type: Passive. You can light your weapons on fire and keep them lit with your Mana, adding a destructive force to your arsenal. Would you like to acquire this skill?]

*ding!*

[Class Ability Activated. You have stolen the skill Inferno Storm. Inferno Storm – Type: Active. You can harness the elemental forces of fire and wind, merging them into a devastating whirlwind of scorching flames. The storm will engulf everything in its path in a blazing inferno. Would you like to acquire this skill?]

Meera grinned. Welcome back, Inferno Storm.

*ding!*

[You have acquired the skill Inferno Storm – Level 1]

With a huge grin, she walked on until she found the Warden's hiding place, or so she hoped. The door swung open before she even knocked. Zona, the Longshot Warden, stared at her with intimidating red eyes. Her white hair shone in Mirithia's light. It would be easy to mistake her for a goddess.

"Sorry, I'm late. I got side-tracked," Meera said.

Zona raised an eyebrow, took an about turn, and walked on. Meera followed her in and went up the steps where the rest of the Wardens and Dirik waited. Everyone was up, staring off into the distance with a gaze that said something terrible had happened.

"The runaway's back," Zona said before reopening her book and dropping into a chair.

Everyone looked up at her, but no one was happy or surprised to see her. Not even Pallas.

"I'm sorry to ask, but did someone die?" Meera asked, drawing their attention.

"No, not yet," Lexa, the Stormweaver, said. "But someone's about to. A lot of someones."

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Meera frowned and looked about the room, and no one contested her gloomy proclamation. "Can someone tell me what's going on here? Dirik, what did you tell them?"

"Just what we saw." Dirik sighed. "Things are worse than we thought. The Heart of Doromar is actually—"

"I'll save you some time," Meera interrupted him. "I know what it is and who it belonged to. How do we kill it?"

Some of them shook their heads. Tekton, the Gladiator Warden, scoffed and rolled his eyes while Zona pretended nothing existed but her book.

"It's not so simple, Meera," Melas said, who looked like he'd been woken up from a fantastic nap with terrible news. "I don't think we can kill it. Heck, the Judge of wrongdoers, our Patron, Lady Numheia, couldn't even kill him, and she literally ripped his heart out."

"How strong were these Cosmarians that even the gods couldn't kill them," Meera stated. Either the gods of these lands are pathetically weak, or anyone can attain the power of the gods if they trained hard enough.

Brison sighed. "When Rothedon rebelled, the gods were at their weakest, having recently dealt with Aetheron. Judge them however you want, but they did their best at that time."

"But couldn't they have gone to mop up the rest later on once they were at full power?"

Brison looked away. "Maybe they didn't think that this necromancer would rear its head once again."

"Okay, fine, let's say we can't kill or burn it or whatever," Meera said. "Can we not make a big hole and bury it deep?"

"You've clearly never fought a necromancer before, have you?" Tekton pulled out a throwing knife and started polishing it. "Underground would be the worst place for an undead heart. It would easily take control of a dead animal, which could then do its bidding and raise more undead. How do you think it raised the army that the kid was telling us about?"

"But why is it waking now? That is the question we need to be asking ourselves." Pallas said. "If it lay dormant for how many thousands of years."

No one had a response for him. He was right. It couldn't be chance.

"Could it have something to do with Aetheron's waking," Dirik said.

That triggered a nightmarish memory. "Maybe it heard its king's call," Meera said abruptly.

All heads turned to her.

She almost told them of her visit to the Cosmarian King's court through the eyes of one of its hounds. "I mean, it is the end of the world, right? So, would Rothedon sit idly by, trapped in his forest, or do all it can to survive."

Some nodded at that and took that as an explanation. Meera sighed silently, but Brison noticed. She didn't meet his eyes but still saw him squinting at her longer than necessary.

"Killing it is just one thing," Dirik said. "Meera, you didn't see its level. The Heart is at level 414."

Meera's eyes widened. If the heart is that high-leveled, then how strong was Doromar himself?

"Not to mention all those undead," Dirik finished.

"They should be of no concern," Tekton said.

"If they were all we had to deal with, it would be no problem," Pallas said. "But with a heart that can raise the dead that we kill is something that even we will have a hard time with."

"Well, I just had a chat with a friend, and he's willing to lend me thirty Shades to help us deal with the undead problem," Meera said. Then she explained to them that the friend she had gone running after was the Shadowsteel Warlord, and she was working for him to save the queen. She left out the parts about Narikas' problem and the prophecy.

"Told you, she was hiding something," Zona said.

Lexa chuckled and shook her head. "All that work to find a queen."

"Sorry for hiding it from you, but call it a secret mission," Meera said. "So, I have the backup ready. All we need to figure out is how to kill something even a goddess couldn't."

"Fun fact, agent of Narikas." Tekton slid his knife into its sheath and pulled out another. "We don't fight with outsiders."

"Technically, we're outsiders," Meera pointed out.

"But you've been tested and voted in by the group," he replied.

"He's right, Meera," Pallas said. "The Lady does not allow it. It's one of the decrees of the High Wardens."

"Seems like the Lady wouldn't mind us getting outside help this time," Melas said, looking at Brison, who just shrugged.

"You're the leader of this group," Brison said. "I just record things. You're the one who will have to explain it to the High Wardens."

Melas nodded. "Meera, you said we have three days. After that, the Shades will be pulled back for the war."

Meera nodded. "That's right."

He went on. "We have two days to prepare. Brison, search all the tomes and find a way to kill the Heart of Doromar. If you cannot do that, find the nearest volcano, and we'll chuck that thing into it and hope for the best. Rest of you, train, get stronger. That goes doubly for you two." He wagged a finger between Meera and Dirik.

Meera raised a hand. "Um, can I fight each one of you? I would love to—"

"Steal our skills?" Zona interrupted.

Meera turned red and looked at Pallas. "You told them?"

Pallas chuckled nervously. "I'm sorry, I just couldn't hold it in."

"Last time, I tell you anything," Meera grumbled.

"Please, no!" Pallas cried. "I promise to keep everything to myself."

"Careful, he says that every time," Lexa chimed.

"But this time, I really mean it," Pallas pleaded.

"Sure, you do, loudmouth."

"Okay, okay, let's get back to the topic at hand," Melas said. "Yes, Meera, you can fight each one of us. Actually, it's better that way. You'll get experience of fighting with various styles and skills. Brison, give us a world and slow down the time as much as you can. We need days in there to make a significant difference in our levels."

Meera was only too happy to start training for two reasons. The upcoming fights were going to be terribly hard, and second, she would need to be strong enough to take on any assassin Rokibor might send, as she had no intention of finding his son for him.

Besides, the prophecy did say that a king would forsake his throne. Maybe she would get lucky, and Rokibor would give up the throne.

The others started talking amongst themselves as to who would take on whom while Meera pulled Dirik aside into the adjoining room and pushed him against the wall.

"Now, Dirik, what is your real name? Because Narikas, your old boss, told me he never had a Shade by that name? Who are you?"