The halls were quiet, except for the slight crackle of little pieces of stone still dripping down from the ceiling.

“Hello? Daymond?!” Cathy cried out in a shrill voice from across the hall. “I heard a lot of banging and explosions! Are you alive? Please tell me you’re not dead!”

I lifted my hand, “Yeah…” I said between labored breaths. “...I’m doing great…”

“Thank god!” Cathy shouted, her voice quivering. “They have me chained up in here! I think Claudius has the key!”

I dragged myself to my feet and shuffled over to Claudius’ corpse, then unhooked the set of keys from his belt loop.

A familiar chill ran down my spine. My eyes glided over to his black fingerless gloves.

“Those are the gloves that control his shields?”

I pulled the gloves off his hands and slipped them onto my own. A tingling sensation prickled up my arms and spread throughout my body like cracks of lightning. The gloves were snug and a little sweaty, but that didn’t dim my excitement.

“Just like the Windchaser, it’s the same feeling… That means I can use these now?”

I entered Cathy’s room, showcasing the newly acquired set of keys.

She stared back at me with large, wavering eyes. Her eyelids were slightly swollen and trails of salt lined her cheeks. Her breathing was unsettled, so I gestured for her to calm down. After fumbling around with the lock and chain for a bit, I finally found the right key.

I twisted it, and the lock fell to the floor.

“There, you should be able to take off the chains now,” I stepped away from her and began closely inspecting my gloves, wondering how to get them to activate. If I copied Claudius as close as I could, I figured that would be enough.

The chains around Cathy shook to the ground, and she ran to me with new sets of tears welling up in her eyes. Her arms poised for a large embrace, “Th–Thank you! I was so worried—”

“Shield.”

Cathy stumbled after colliding with the invisible wall. Realizing what I had just done, I glanced up from my hands and smiled awkwardly, “Oh… I’m sorry. I didn’t realize…”

“It’s fine,” she said quickly, tenderly massaging her forehead.

As I lowered my hand, I could sense the shield in front of me vanish.

Cathy softly rubbed her arm. Her cheeks flushed with a subtle shade of red. “Thank you… Even though it put your life at risk, you still came back for me.”

“Don’t even mention it. I need you to help me take down Rae.”

“King Rae…” she whispered. Her lips stretched into a faint smile as she chuckled inaudibly. Her head lifted, “I don’t know how I could ever begin to thank you, Daymond,” The grip she held around her arm tightened. “We've only known each other for a short while, but still, instead of running away to your homeland, you decided that you would rather risk your life to kill the king… all in order to make sure that I’m safe…”

My head swiveled, “What?”

Cathy’s eyes opened.

I shook my head, “No, I was planning on killing Rae from the very beginning. That’s the whole reason why I came here.”

Her jaw dropped, “But… What other reason do you have to kill the king?”

“Because, that’s the only way to make this dream end.”

Cathy’s expression twisted in stark confusion, she raised her eyebrows, “Dream…?”

“Yes, dream!” I said. “Have you looked around? We're in a medieval castle with a magical king who likes to watch Family Feud and drink hennessy, how could you possibly not be able to tell this is a dream?”

Cathy scanned her surroundings as if she were seeing them for the first time. A vague look of realization slowly dawned on her features. She placed her chin in her hand, “Now that you mention it… it is a little strange. That must be why you kept asking me if I was real earlier…”

I heard the muffled sound of clattering hooves coming from outside the window.

We scurried over and peered out at the castle bridge—there were dozens of knights on horseback flooding in from town.

“Shit! There’s more?”

I pushed off from the castle window and grabbed Cathy by the shoulders. “I need you to hold off the knights as I find Rae, think you can do that?”

Cathy stiffened and cupped her hands together, angling her eyes away from me, “Uhh… But, the king is very powerful… Are you sure you'll be alright?”

“I’ll handle it,” I said.

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Cathy pressed her lips, “But… I think it would be much safer if I were to go with you—”

“Hell no!” I countered. “I'm not giving him the chance to take your dumbass hostage again!”

She knocked my hands off her shoulders. “Excuse me? And what exactly have I done to deserve being called a dumbass?”

“You blindly accepted that pendant that was obviously a fucking trap!”

“You’re mom is a fucking trap!”

I slammed my face down into my palm, “Oh yeah… real mature. What are you? Twelve years old or some shit?”

Cathy’s face reddened as if she were out sunbathing all day in gasoline. “W–Wait! If you knew that pendant was a trap, then why didn’t you stop me?”

I perched my hands on my hips, “I wasn’t gonna incriminate myself too. Are you fucking insane?”

Cathy shook with anger, “Oh my god, you’re the worst person I’ve ever met!”

“Sure, whatever. This isn’t the time for this. Can you hold off the knights coming over the bridge or not?”

Cathy’s face filled with valiant determination as she bent down to unbuckle her heels and threw them on the couch. “Of course I can! Do you really think I’m that useless?” She rolled up her white dress and transitioned into side lunges. “He should be in the upper chamber. Go find the king, I’ll show these bitches how to fight fair.”

Light sparked from her ankles as she flashed down the hallway—making it all the way to the staircase in a matter of seconds.

I couldn’t help but grin, just a little bit. She was definitely more than enough to keep those guys busy for a while, so now I could focus all my attention on my main objective: Killing Rae, and getting the hell out of here.

—break—

The passageways in the castle were barren. Even though ample sunlight flowed in through the windows, reflecting beautifully off the white tiled floor—the silence made the walkways feel ominous. The entire area had been vacated. Not even guards remained. The rooms lining the corridors were flung open, and scattered decorations littered the floor—a clear indication that the occupants rushed out in a panic.

While Cathy was out fighting with reinforcements on the bridge, I prowled the upper levels searching for the “upper chamber” that she had mentioned. It was called the upper chamber, so it had to be “upper”, right? Wherever the place was, I sure as hell couldn’t find it. It felt like I was strolling around for miles trying to uncover the hidden treasure of a disappointing scavenger hunt. The whole time, an unsettling thought gnawed away at me… What if Rae left the castle entirely? The idea turned my stomach. I really would’ve preferred not to chase him down in some strange land on the other side of the world.

I picked up the pace, mostly out of fear that Cathy wouldn’t be able to hold off the knights for much longer.

Just then, the sound of a metallic clank echoed from downstairs—breaking the stillness of the castle. The sharp sound made me jump. Up until that point, the only noise I heard was the sound of me rummaging through closets and bathrooms. I quickly made my way down the grand staircase to the first level. As I approached the throne room, the source of the noise became apparent. An empty suit of armor laid, sprawled on the ground right before the throne room’s lavish entrance.

I slowed to a stop and inspected the fallen armor before shifting my eyes towards the door. It was sealed shut.

Flashing the Windchaser into my hand, I crept toward it and used my knife to shoot out a hefty puff of air, knocking the entrance open slightly—just enough so I could squeeze my body through to the other side.

It was just as I thought. Rae stood at the far end, his sword dangling loosely at his side. A light aura of fire surrounded the blade, popping as it danced around like waves.

I stomped down the carpet heading straight for the throne, “So, it looks like you’re not trying to hide after all.”

He graciously removed his crown, placing it on the seat of the throne before stepping down from the ledge. He held out his crackling sword with both hands, “My advisors wanted to lock me away in the upper chamber, but I decided I would rather kill you myself.”

“You should have listened to your advisors,” I countered. “They advise your stupid ass for a reason.”

Rae’s grip clenched around his sword’s handle, bringing forth a raging inferno which engulfed the entire blade and surged upward, tinging the ceiling. He fired off a blazing wall of flames with his swing. At the last moment, I ducked below. The flames spiraled to the back wall, engulfing the entirety of the entrance behind me in a magical bonfire.

At that moment I saw, the flames from his sword weren’t normal. The fire it summoned spread instantly upon contact, as if everything it touched was doused in gallons of alcohol. Within moments, all the sides of the throne room were covered in blistering orange and red flames. The image was akin to hell itself—as if all the castle walls were stuffed full of accelerants.

Flames sprayed from the tip of his blade like a flame thrower. The magical flames sealed away the outside light and shrouded the room around us in darkness. Apart from the burning walls and throne, all I could see was his face and the ground beneath me. An infernal glow flickered across his lips as they curled into a sharp, wicked grin that seemed to cut through the shadows.

Sweat urgently raced from my pores, making my arms slippery. The intense heat radiated around me with the viciousness of a wildfire. Almost instantly, my lungs ached from the exhaust rapidly smothering the room. Rae stood perfectly still, holding the fiery blade arms length away from his face. Despite the circumstances, not even a single bead of sweat formed on his body.

I shielded myself in an attempt to avoid burning to death, but the shield did little to combat the surrounding heat. It felt like I was thrust straight into the middle of a furnace.

Rae walked forwards, “You know… fire and suffocation are the worst ways to go.”

I dropped my stance and thrust forward a strong gust of wind. The strike hammered into his chestplate, sending him flying backwards. His face reeled in anguish as he lifted his hand to grip his chest, his armor seemed to equate the blow to more of a hard punch rather than the penetrating skewer which I intended it to be.

Below his hand, I saw his golden chestplate glowing fluorescent green at the point where my strike had landed. After regaining balance, he unclenched his jaw and the glow on his chest gradually faded.

His eyebrows creased, “You’re really fucking pissing me off!”

With one large swipe, a burst of fire flew from his blade, zooming towards me.

I threw out my hand. “Shield!”

The flames dispersed around me as I struggled to keep my footing. It felt as if I were trying to stand still despite being bucked by a bull. The bright orange hellish flames crashed over my invisible shield and surrounded me. I struggled to keep them from contacting my skin and killing me instantly. The fire raged past and scattered toward the carpet behind me, setting it ablaze.

I gnashed my teeth. If I wasn’t careful, he could set this whole room on fire and there would be nothing I could do to defend myself.

“You taking Claudius’ power won’t be enough to save you,” Rae said as he readied his next attack.

I parted my feet and stretched my arms out to their sides, “Wall of Haven.”

I waited for the giant green walls to rise from the ground and protect me, just as they did Claudius—but instead, nothing happened.

“...What?”