Armand rushed into the deepest part of the fortress, leaving Bojan behind to face Octavia. A new, dark corridor stretched out before him, illuminated by a few flickering torches hanging from the walls. The silence was oppressive, disturbed only by the sound of his own footsteps and the distant echo of the fight between Bojan and Octavia. Strangely, he didn't encounter any guards, as if this area was reserved for certain persons.

He continued forward until he entered a vast room, lit by a green light emanating from huge crystals embedded in the walls. The room was strangely well-maintained, and the temperature was more pleasant than the freezing atmosphere of the rest of the fortress. In the center of the room there was a large golden cage surrounded by the same chains that adorned the door Armand had forced to reach the basement.

Inside, a young woman sat staring into space, her brown hair neatly combed, dressed in a modest white blouse and long brown skirt. A white wick in her hair reflected the green light of the room. It was Carolina.

"Carolina!" he shouted, running toward the cage.

Carolina looked up, startled by the unfamiliar voice. Her brown eyes stared warily at Armand.

"Who are you?" she asked in a trembling voice.

"My name is Armand. Bojan and I have come to rescue you," he replied, searching for a way to open the cage. "We don't have much time. He's fighting the executioner of this prison, but I don't know how long he can hold her off."

"Octavia?" she said, worried.

Armand inspected the cage carefully, looking for a mechanism or a lock. The chains around it were thick, emanating a faint purple light. He guessed that this wasn't an ordinary cage. Placing his hands on the cage's golden bars, he felt his energy suddenly drained by the purple chains and quickly let go.

"I can't force them, it feels like the door," he said aloud to himself.

So he ruled out the possibility of forcing the bars with his strength and tried to find another way. Suddenly he had an idea, but he had to check if it was possible to pass magic through the bars. He created a ball of magic in his hand, then levitated it through the bars. It gradually decreased in size until it reached the size of a grain of sand.

He smiled as he saw that this was possible, even though the ball had drastically reduced in size. His eyes turned indigo and he created a rift of his own size beside him. Carolina questioned him about what he'd just done, not understanding what he was getting at, still a little wary.

"This is your way out! Move aside, I'm going to create another rift inside your cage. You'll have to get into it quickly before it disappears!"

Immediately after, he formed another ball of magic, this time indigo-colored and smoky-looking, then sent it into the cage. It was small enough to not be reduced any further. Carolina stepped back as the ball advanced, then with a gesture of his hand, Armand stretched it from a distance until it was Carolina's size. He felt that the rift was forced to diminish because of the magic surrounding the cage, but he tried to maintain this size.

"Get in there, quick! I can't hold on much longer!" he shouted at her, straining his arms to keep the breach open.

She still hesitated, thinking that this was probably not a good idea, but as she saw Armand struggling to keep the breach open, she took a deep breath and rushed through, closing her eyes. Just as she passed through, the steaming rift closed with a muffled sound. Armand, exhausted, fell to his knees, breathing heavily. Carolina stumbled out of the second portal, which also closed immediately afterwards, and fell to her knees, tearing her skirt slightly at the right knee.

He stood up, then helped her to her feet by holding out his hand, and she thanked him, still confused by the situation, not understanding what had just happened.

"Why have you come to save me?" she asked him.

Armand took a deep breath before answering. "Bojan told me about you. He told me all about your past, the hell you lived here for a decade, what happened at the slave market," he paused as he looked at her, in particular her white wick, "and also about the discrimination you and yours suffered because of that white wick."

She looked at the floor at his words and took the white lock of hair between her fingers, then looked at him again. "How come you're not afraid of me? Who are you exactly?"

He turned to head for the entrance to the large green room and stopped, speaking to her over his shoulder. "It doesn't matter who I am. I saved you first and foremost for Bojan, who right now is trying to buy us time. We mustn't waste time!" He omitted to tell her about his true identity on purpose to not confuse her more than that, besides, he told himself that she probably wouldn't believe him, even with his tattoo under her mitten.

With a worried look on her face for the man who had treated her like his own daughter in this prison where hope had no place, Carolina nodded and followed him. He explained that Bojan was currently in purgatory, the level above this room, separated by a vast staircase. Suddenly, Armand stopped and gestured with his arm for Carolina to do the same as they stood directly in front of the stairs.

"What's going on?" she asked, not understanding this sudden stop when he'd been in such a hurry earlier.

Armand looked up at the ceiling, a bead of sweat running down his face. "Can't you feel it?" he said feverishly.

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"No, I don't feel anything in particular," she replied, also looking towards the ceiling, but seeing nothing. She couldn't perceive that oppressive magic emanating from the upper floors that chilled Armand's blood, having never felt anything like it.

Earlier, in the purgatory corridor, the duel between Bojan and Octavia was raging, and neither wanted to show his opponent an ounce of tiredness. Bojan was able to hit Octavia thanks to his speed. Although his magic was ineffective against her, he was physically strong enough to deliver powerful blows. His speed gave him an advantage, but Octavia was very resistant and often managed to parry his attacks with her axe.

"I must admit, you're holding out longer than expected for someone who hasn't fought for ages," she said scornfully.

"I'm surprised myself. It's almost as if you're taking it easy on me, and that makes me even madder," he retorted, channeling the surrounding magic into his fists in the form of electricity.

"What trick are you up to again?" she asked without really waiting for an answer, positioning herself to strike back with her weapon. She slid a finger towards the top of her axe's handle, and a sort of gauge appeared, increasing as her finger slid over it. Once the maximum was reached, the axe also absorbed magic and created a kind of extension of itself, doubling in size.

Bojan smiled at this and opened his fists, releasing ten small spheres of electricity on each of his fingers. She watched them warily, then he threw them all over the area. One of them flew towards Octavia, which she dispelled with a wave of her hand thanks to her apathomagy. She looked up and noticed that the other nine spheres remained stationary where he had thrown them. Suspecting that he was up to something, she remained vigilant. As soon as she rested her gaze on him again, he disappeared.

She swept her gaze across the corridor and noticed a beam of electricity ricocheting between the spheres at high speed. She tightened her grip on her axe, her eyes following Bojan's fast movements. She knew he was up to something, but hadn't yet figured out what. Her fingers tightened on the handle of her weapon, ready to strike at any moment.

Bojan, for his part, used his electric spheres to move quickly and disrupt his opponent. Each ricochet increased his speed, making his movements increasingly unpredictable. He knew he had to strike hard and fast if he wanted to have any chance of defeating her despite her advantage.

Suddenly, he appeared behind her, his fists charged with electricity. Octavia, reacting instinctively, aware that it was useless to guess where he would come from given his speed, swung her axe above her, releasing blades of air throughout the corridor. He narrowly dodged, but this slowed his assault, allowing Octavia to locate him. She stopped her axe and swung it at him. Her fist collided with the magic axe, creating an intense electric discharge on contact with the weapon's magic.

The collision of the magics produced a shockwave. Bojan was thrown slightly backwards and fell to his knees, clutching his bloodied right hand and groaning in pain. He had been hit by a blade of air, leaving a gash on all four fingers.

Octavia, for her part, was thrown further away, against a wall, due to her lighter weight. Her axe had been severely damaged by the impact: the magical coating that had doubled its size was shattered, as was the mechanism that catalyzes magic, reducing it to a mere axe.

Both got to their feet with difficulty: Bojan still holding his hand in pain, Octavia leaning on her axe. Their eyes, both serious and determined, had not wavered since the start of their confrontation; neither wanted to give up.

After a short moment, Bojan decided to approach, taking a heavy step towards Octavia. Suddenly, he came to an abrupt halt, a sinister sensation stopping him in his tracks, his breathing suddenly quickening. He pivoted, staring at the stairs leading to the first floor. Octavia, confused at first because she couldn't feel anything, understood what was happening.

"You should have run while you could, and left that girl alone. Your little game is over," she smiled, sliding down the wall to sit down again, exhausted.

At the same time, on the first floor of the Silver Fortress, the prisoners were looking for a way through the thick mist that pervaded the entire prison. Octavia had wounded or even shot some of them before descending to the basement. Taking advantage of the mist, some had managed to evade her, and once she'd gone, they'd immediately looked to escape as quickly as possible.

"Damn it, we can't see a thing. Did you find anything?" one prisoner asked his comrade as they searched for the large portal.

"Nothing at all, it's completely foggy," replied the other, advancing close to the walls to try and find the exit.

Suddenly, a voice alerted them in the distance: a prisoner had finally found the portal. They all rushed towards the voice and indeed discovered the famous portal, their last step towards freedom. It was decorated with the same purple chains as the door leading to the basement. A fairly strong man tried to open it, but failed, and seemed strangely exhausted after his attempt. Others tried in turn, without success.

"We can't open it! These chains absorb our energy, it's impossible."

"How can we open it then?" asked another prisoner.

"In any case, the key should be in the prison warden's office..." declared a prisoner.

"Wait a minute," said a prisoner suddenly feeling something. "Do you feel it too?" He turned to look at the totally misty opposite corridor.

All the prisoners fell silent, feeling the same thing on the other side of the corridor. The air had suddenly become oppressive, and the terror was written all over their faces. However, one of them plucked up courage and stepped forward into the mist. They were telling him to stay here, as they didn't know what might happen, but he replied that they were already too far away to give up so close to the goal, and that the office should be near the entrance to this corridor, if his memory was correct.

Arriving finally at the office door after skirting the wall so he wouldn't get lost in the fog, the feeling of unease intensified. Swallowing his saliva, he leaned over to put his hand on the handle, but before he could touch it, the door exploded violently, throwing debris against the opposite wall and crushing the man between it and the wall. Bricks in the wall collapsed under the force of the impact.

The explosion was so violent that it briefly dissipated the surrounding mist. The other prisoners, who had remained near the portal, were shocked by what they had just seen and feared the worst, knowing exactly who was responsible of this event. A man emerged from the room, furious to the point of breaking his cigar in half between his teeth and dropping it at his feet before violently spitting the other half on the floor.

It was Herman, the warden of the Silver Fortress, disturbed in his sleep by the noise around his office, unaware of the situation in his own prison. He discovered the fortress mysteriously fogged in, and sensed a crowd of prisoners huddled near the gate leading to the exit. Intense rage coursed through his body, his veins ready to burst, and he roared at the top of his lungs.

"What the hell is going on here !!?" Herman's cry of rage echoed throughout the fortress, piercing the mist and freezing the prisoners' blood. His massive figure then advanced towards them, each step echoing heavily on the stone floor. The terrified prisoners began to disperse, desperate to find somewhere to hide or even to return to their cells, knowing that confronting him was not an option.

End of chapter 16.