A cold, sharp pain spread from my legs throughout my body like a nova. It shot me abruptly out my daze after barely waking up. Bandits, by the look of it. There were about ten of them, two of which were wizards and another two were archers. My leg quavered. Shit! They fucking stabbed me in the leg with a sword, and from the boy’s yell, he got the same treatment.

I didn’t think we’d find people out in these parts, because this was still within the chimera’s territory. They were taking the stuff I had, which wasn’t much. But it looked like they wanted us alive, perhaps to be sold as slaves again. Otherwise, the swords they stabbed us in the leg with would instead be plunged into our throats. Admittedly, both me and the kid sleeping at the same time wasn’t a smart move.

One of them snatched Shadowsiphon away from me, which I was banking on. I recalled it to me and it spun just like I wanted, cleanly decollating a warrior and grazing the next. I caught it, swung at the bastard next to me and ripped his muscles, veins, arteries and nerves away and left him for dead.

Ignite distracted one of the mages and Wind Kiss fell the charging warrior. The other mage had to focus on stopping his blood from running after I aimed Water Jet at his throat; unfortunately, it didn’t hit quite the right spot to kill him.

An arrow struck me in the stomach. Fuck! I erected a few Earth Walls around the boy and a few around myself, then bombarded them with Water Jets. The spell wasn’t fatal unless aimed up the nostrils which could potentially drown them, in the eyes, or at the target’s jugular. Another arrow zoomed past me, and that one packed a real punch in order to cut through my Earth Walls like that. I decided to take down my defenses; not being able to predict where the arrow would come from was an issue.

I yanked the sword out of my leg and flung my dagger at an archer, landing it in his shoulder. It wouldn’t have killed him, but he wasn’t about to pull that bowstring anytime soon.

The last warrior that tried to charge in finally had me within his sights again, so his axe was on a warpath to my neck. I laid down quickly, but not fast enough. A huge slash opened me up from my jaw to near the top of my head, going through an ear in the process. I cried out and used a skill on the sword I pulled out to stab into the ribcage of my attacker.

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I was beginning to get dizzy; my leg was spurting blood like a fountain. Four warriors were down, and two of them watched from afar. The two mages were still alive and well, and one archer was out of commission. Adrenaline soared through me, but I didn’t know who to focus on in that split-second lull.

“Enough!” one of the warriors roared. “Anymore shit, and we kill the lad!” He put his sword by the boy’s neck. “What the hell are you?!” He eyed me up and down. “That was a skill you used, and spells. You a demon or something?”

I clenched my teeth; my rage and frustration were the only things keeping me conscious at that point. I’ll fucking kill you! I’ll kill you all! I cannot let it end like this! One thought of Tina gave me just that little edge I needed.

I heard a few spells going off, the swirling sound of speeding arrows, the battle cries and the clank and clatter of sword and shield. Then, I passed out. Again, my soul was drifting away, going towards the light. Ah, fuck, man. Is this the third time now? I’m tired of dying! I saw the light again, whispering soothing comforts to me. But, at that point, I knew the light was never the answer.

I meditated for a while and would soon feel two other presences. One was Niran the Primeval, the fucker that gave me the greatest powers then took them away. The other presence was one I knew not the name of, but I felt that part of him was within Shadowsiphon. Niran was a lich, and in a way, he was neither good nor bad, or at least that’s how it felt. But Shadowsiphon was unapologetically bad. I saw dark sides of myself that I never knew after the dagger came to me, like it chose to be with me.

So, what would it be this time? Niran, Shadowsiphon, or the light? I could feel it in my bones that the light was the afterlife, and going there meant actually dying. If I went there when I was back on Earth, my body would’ve probably died. So, that was a no-go. And also, fuck Niran. Therefore, after several meetings and discussions with stakeholders, Deidre’s board of directors decided to choose Shadowsiphon.

I took a huge gasp and breathed heavily when I awoke, as if I died by asphyxiation. The scene before me had me heavily questioning myself and my choices. Was Shadowsiphon really the correct thing, or person, to choose? Well, yes, it absolutely was, but the fact remained that I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

The kid sat next to me, barely able to keep himself together. If he was any more nervous and stiffer, he might’ve turned to stone. Just glancing at him made me feel like his heart stopped for a few seconds.

I rubbed my eyes with uncertainty at the scene before me. Where do I even start? Okay, let’s start with the five Undead Knights. Never thought I’d be so happy to see them again.