Tham ran until he felt he couldn’t run anymore, until his legs felt like jelly, until his breathing hurt and his head swam. But he reached the opening in the rocky wall. It was clear of soldiers.

The now-open hallway, burrowing deep into the mountain, was barely lit by a few torches here and there, their fire firmly waving up and down in unison.

Metal doors lined up on both sides of the hallway, each containing a number. How on Athoren was he meant to find out which cell held Kayden? Catching his breath, standing on the threshold to the prison, the realization hit Tham that he was in deep. Sneaking into a high-security imperial site… A few months ago, Tham would’ve laughed at the thought.

He paused for a moment. He had to make sure that whatev–

“Oh?” a deep female voice from behind him said. “An intruder?”

Tham spun, eyes wide, to see a three-meter-tall armored woman crouching just outside the opening in the mountain, staring at him as if she was catching butterflies in a field.

Tham froze.

The vial. He remembered what the girl from earlier had told him. “Use it when you need it most.”

The giant woman watched him intently, as if studying him. Or… recognizing him.

“You,” she finally said. “You let my brother die.”

“...What?” Tham whispered.

He then remembered.

The giant man’s expression turned from annoyed laughter to fear as the weight and hardness of the stone pulled him down into the ground. He hit the floor hard, and was unable to stand back up.

“He died?” Tham asked, disturbed. And Kayden and him were recognized in the chaos?

“He couldn’t take the sudden release of power,” the woman said monotonously. “He didn’t make it. And neither will you.”

Tham broke into a sprint toward the depths of the mountain as the woman smashed through the remaining rocks covering the opening in the wall. He barely noticed the place getting darker as he ran for his life, not daring to look behind. But not even half a minute passed before the hallway in the rock opened up into a massive, deep chasm, split only by a stone bridge.

He skittered to a stop as the woman, wreaking through the hallway ceiling, came to a halt a few meters in front of him, oversized mace grabbed hard in her hands and bloodthirsty smile on her face.

Now what?!

“I can’t die here,” Tham whispered, terrified.

Just like with the beowolves, so long ago, back near his village. A tiny part wanted to believe that Kayden would come dashing out of some metal door and save him once more, but… he knew he couldn’t rely solely on others anymore.

He clutched the vial the girl had given him hard in his hand.

“Your mother will be proud.”

Tham knew Kayden’s faraway words to be true.

“You shouldn’t be forced to grow up yet. But, truth is, your world has changed. And there are some truths grown-ups just need to face.”

There were some journeys grown-ups just needed to face.

“Your mother was a Spacebender. A man who can bend space to his will. One of the two most powerful types of Lawbender. That means… you’re a Spacebender too.”

His time had finally come.

“I won’t die here,” Tham said, raising his voice in confidence. “I won’t die here! I’m really sorry about your brother, but you won’t take my life for his. You want to kill me so badly?”

He extended his arms to his sides, taunting her, forcing out a grin. “Come and get me.”

And then he stepped back, dropping himself onto the chasm.

He had no idea what he was doing. But he did it anyways.

The giant woman flew to the edge, furiously trying to catch him herself before he slammed against the bottom.

How deep was this anyway?

Tham grabbed the vial of power with both hands, gravity slapping him and pulling him down into the depths of Athoren.

I will reach a Skyland and tell my story in verse. This is for everyone who ever believed.

The giant woman, frustrated but determined, jumped down toward his falling body. Good.

What if–? No. Just do it.

Tham uncorked the vial, bringing it up to his mouth.

I choose to believe.

A current of compressed air shot straight into Tham’s lungs, filling his every vein.

And then, his eyes flashed white.

Now Spacebend.

– – –

“We’re gonna be saved!”

Hassah of Madron made her declaration of victory and raised her fist in the air. Around her, what remained of her family kept silent. The slave camp’s ragged tent leaked in moonlight as the only source of illumination.

“Hassah, my dear,” her grandma said slowly, sitting on the tent’s only chair. “Haven’t you illusioned yourself too much already?”

Hassah pursed her lips, downhearted. Her parents and uncle were silent.

“Won’t you at least ask how?”

“The longer you expect, the sicker your heart grows.”

“You really have lost all hope, haven’t you?” Hassah said softly.

“The more you live, the less you hope.”

“Stop trying to lecture me!” she said. “Just stop. You’ll see. Empires rise and fall. If you’d read the history books I lent you… you’d know no tyranny lasts forever!”

Her grandma didn’t reply. Though she still tried, she knew better than to argue with Hassah when it came to matters of hope. But Hassah believed. She’d seen the blond man’s power when fighting that imperial warrior. She’d seen the determination in the boy’s eyes. She’d listened when he said he’d save them all.

“I’m just glad that means the soldiers are leaving us alone for a bit,” her uncle said with thick, unfiltered southern accent, lying on the ground with eyes closed. “Doubt it’ll last long, though.”

Hassah’s heart skipped a beat. He was right. There were way too many imperial soldiers in Unbadda. Those two had no chance against them.

“I gotta do something,” she muttered.

“Hey,” her mom cut her off, standing between her and the exit of the tent. “You’re not going anywhere, girl.”

“But I need to help!” she demanded.

“Listen to your mother,” her dad said. “We don’t want any more trouble. We can’t lose you too. There’s nothing you can do.”

Hassah hesitated. She breathed in deep and spoke.

“I’m gonna become a musician and play music from the Humans of Old, you know. I can’t do that here. But, don’t worry.” She grinned. “I’ll come back for you all.”

“Agh,” her grandma complained. “She’ll make her choice. Let her go. But, Hassah, girl. If you do… Be ready to die.”

– – –

Kayden was desperate.

Had that distant voice been Tham? What was the earthquake smashing through outside? He couldn’t hold it any longer.

“Tham!” he shouted. “You okay?! Tham… over here! Here I am! Tham! Anyone!”

Small tears filled his eyes as he shouted his lungs out.

“Tham! Mimicker! Someone!”

Bakor would’ve known what to do.

I can’t take this anymore!

“Help!”

And then, footsteps. Inside the dark cell. Heavy, hard breathing.

“...Man, it’s dark in here,” Tham’s voice said.

“Tham?!” Kayden said, surprised. “What are you–? …I’m so glad you’re here.”

“Kayden, can you hear me?” Tham asked.

“We’re here, Kayden!” the Mimicker called out. “We’re here to save you.”

Kayden couldn’t see anything, except for… two eyes shining white, blinking and looking around in the darkness.

“...Tham?” he asked. “Is that you?”

The eyes turned toward him. “Yeah, yeah! There you are.”

“You can see me?” Kayden said. “What’s with your eyes? What’s going on?”

The eyes –Tham, probably wielding the Mimicker– approached him, and a few precise slashes later, his shackles split, and he dropped to the ground. He couldn’t see a thing in this darkness. Curiously enough, that meant the door hadn’t opened at all.

“Okay, hold on,” Tham said. “Grab the Mimicker. This is gonna be a little weird.”

Tham grabbed Kayden’s arm, and an instant later, they were standing on a torch-lit hallway, a faraway hole in a wall leading out into the dark night.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“I did it,” Tham, now in Kayden’s sight, said, his eyes still shining white. “I’m a Spacebender now. I beat a really tall woman, and now here we are.” He grinned. “Saving you.”

“...Whoa,” was all Kayden could say before Tham rushed toward him and hugged him tight.

“I missed you, man,” Tham said.

“Me too!” the Mimicker added.

“Yeah,” Kayden said, returning the embrace. “I missed you guys too. …I’ll need a lot of explanations, though.”

“Yep,” Tham nodded. “We’ve got some new friends, it seems. But, first… let’s get out of here. We probably haven’t got long.”

“You’re the boss,” Kayden said. “Where to?”

Tham rushed down the hallway as Kayden followed close behind.

Kayden could see Tham starting to wear down, the glow in his eyes fading. Whatever effect he had ingested, it was fading away. But Kayden knew the powers would stay. He smiled to himself. They always grew up so fast. He was so proud of Tham.

Kayden himself was exhausted too, lacking air, starving, and weakened. But he couldn’t stop now.

From the opening in the wall they emerged right on time to see what had to be a full legion of imperial soldiers waiting for them just outside, weapons at the ready, dark against the night. Lauren –the Everbender– was nowhere to be seen, but this was way too much nonetheless.

“...You said we had some new friends?” Kayden asked as they both stood on the threshold, petrified.

“..Yeah,” Tham said. “Merdilen should be somewhere around–”

A half-conscious blond man dressed in a black coat landed stumbling in front of them from somewhere above in the mountain. He made a thumbs-up gesture back toward them even as he struggled not to fall to his knees, looking over at the legion of soldiers.

“I’m…”

The rest was incomprehensible.

“Kayden, Merdilen. Merdilen, Kayden,” Tham introduced, trying to ease the fear.

“In the name of the Empire of the Shattered Sky of Athoren!” a soldier called out from among the ranks. “Timeless and company! Surrender and you will receive an honorable execution and burial!”

Kayden sighed, his mind racing. “Why can’t it ever be easy?”

They had to do something. But what?

The legion of soldiers all readied their weapons with thunder of a sound. “You have five seconds to–”

A female scream pierced the battlefield.

A loud, shrill scream, as high as the human voice could get. So loud, the ground started vibrating.

Most of the soldiers, the ones farther away from Kayden, Tham, the Mimicker, and Merdilen, covered their ears, letting go of their weapons.

“What on Earth?” Merdilen whispered, still struggling to catch his footing.

“A marrmaid?” Kayden asked.

“No,” Tham said. “It’s her. Over there.”

Kayden looked over to where Tham was pointing. The tall watchtower seemed to have line of sight over half the camps, and atop it, he could see a dark dot against the night.

“You recognize that dot?” Kayden asked.

“Yeah,” Tham said. “I just know it. It’s the girl who gave me the vial that triggered my powers. It’s a distraction.”

“...Well,” Kayden said, “that’s great, but for what? I can’t think of anything.”

Merdilen was staring over to the left, to the east, to where the sun was starting to rise. “For that.”

A thundering roar crossed the world.

A deep and rough roar, loud and extended. A dragon’s roar.

“Holy moly,” Tham said.

“We know that guy,” Kayden added.

A massively-long red dragon. A wingless red dragon.

He was coming straight for them, smashing through houses and buildings, slamming soldiers into the rock and burning watchtowers to the ground with his fire.

“Dragon!” a sentry sounded the alarm. The soldiers clearly had no idea what to do.

From their high vantage point, the four of them could see the dragon making his way at a high speed through everything in his way. But he wouldn’t be able to get up to them –he was way too big to climb.

We’re so high up, Kayden couldn’t help but thinking. His head started swimming from the mere thought. He took a shaky breath and focused on not looking down.

“We jump on three,” he said to the others with determination. “It’s believe or die now.”

The dragon approached, the draconic roar intensifying as the female scream died out. It dashed straight toward below their position, faster than expected for a dragon his size.

“Okay, uh, three-two-one!” Kayden shouted in quick succession.

And then, he closed his eyes, and they jumped.

Arrows flew as they crossed the sky. Arrows… and something else.

Kayden’s stomach lurched as he was pulled away from the dragon by an invisible force, shooting him toward the rocky ground far below as if gravity had decided he’d gone too far.

“Kayden!” he heard Tham shout from far above.

Harkatronic?!, he thought during the split second in which he crossed the air faster than ever before. No. Someone stronger.

Kayden regressed time on himself before hitting the surface, only to find himself tackled in mid-air by none other than Lauren. The Everbender had her lower face covered in a metallic mask still, her unimpressed eyes the only tinge of expression Kayden could see. She slammed him down into the ground, way too fast.

He screamed as several important somethings cracked inside his body, smashed as he was between the Everbender’s superpowered weight and the rock surface.

“I won’t let you get away that easily,” Lauren told him as he coughed blood to the side. “Where’s the art in that?”

Kayden regressed time by a second, and he fell again, atop Lauren’s back this time. Lauren’s lack of reaction as he lept to the side unsettled him, but there was no time to think about that now.

She looked at him.

“I’m the Everbender,” she said, “because I mastered all Lawbending branches. Do you still think you can get away from me?”

Kayden glanced to the side and grinned.

“Not alone.”

The moon was high enough in the sky for it to light up their faces. The dust from when they slammed onto the ground was settling. And, as Lauren unsheathed her blade, he vanished.

It took several seconds for Kayden to understand as he suddenly popped up atop the dragon, but he grabbed onto whatever scales he could and wished for the best. Behind him, Tham and Merdilen were holding on too, and the Mimicker was safely sheathed on Kayden’s back.

Behind them, Lauren burst into action, soaring through the sky toward them with a shrill scream.

Kayden had never felt such overwhelming speed as the dragon shot away. He couldn’t say a word, but he heard Tham shout.

“Turn left! We need to save the girl!”

“Too dangerous!” the dragon’s deep and resounding voice called back. “The Everbender’s catching up!”

Kayden hesitated for a moment. But he trusted Tham.

“Do it!” Kayden said.

The dragon lurched to the left, toward a still-standing watchtower, where a dark-skinned girl with green eyes was standing on its highest platform, looking with fear but determination down at the climbing hordes of imperial soldiers.

“She’s too high up!” Merdilen said.

“Just go!” Tham exclaimed.

They approached the watchtower.

You can do it, Tham, Kayden thought, clutching the dragon’s scales hard.

As the girl jumped from the top of the watchtower with her eyes shut tight in an utter leap of faith, Tham disappeared for a second, reappearing a moment later with her in front of him in the dragon. The wingless dragon didn’t for a moment stop his run.

“You all good back there?” Kayden shouted.

“I think so!” Tham gasped.

The Everbender –Lauren– was almost to the dragon’s tail. So the dragon spun around, spewing a long and sustained column of fire at her. When he resumed his race, she was nowhere to be seen.

“Heh,” Merdilen said. “He killed her.”

“No,” Kayden replied. “She can heal by Timebending. But she won’t be able to reach us anymore –her air is limited too.”

His heart was beating fast. Why, he wondered.

“Let’s get out of here,” the dragon said, seemingly as much to the others as to himself, as he smashed through Unbadda’s outer wall and ran into the wilderness. “...Skyguard.”

– – –

“You failed.”

Harkatronic struggled to steady his breathing as the Everbender approached him among the debris. He paused from ripping his hair out. Never before had he faced an enemy so desperating as the feeling that the rock was fusing with his scalp.

He glared at her.

“So did you. And even a fool could’ve realized you didn’t give it your all.”

“It isn’t time yet. Kayden Almerth may still be of use to awaken the Timewatcher. And watch your mouth; I’m still your Empress.”

“Then how’d I fail?” Harkatronic shouted. “Did you want to kill them or not?”

“Kayden Almerth must live for now. The others should have died.”

Harkatronic was furious. Not only had he lost another warhammer, but his hair had been ruined forever. What for? The Everbender’s nonchalant attitude was pissing him off. He forced himself to breathe in and out several times. He couldn’t afford to lose his position in the Empire. After all, he needed to become Emperor one day. He had to prove his father right. So he had to keep his cool.

“Your father would’ve succeeded,” the Everbender added.

Harkatronic felt a chill run down his spine. “What… did you say?”

“Lord Harka always gets the job done.”

He had trouble keeping his breath steady. “You know my dad?”

She shrugged. “Maybe. Do I?”

“Stop playing with me.”

“Or what?”

He hesitated.

“Good,” the Everbender said. “Stand down. Don’t forget you’re my dog. Just like your father.”

Something inside Harkatronic snapped. He Gravitybent toward his hand a long and thin metallic pillar from the wreckage left behind by the dragon. He grabbed it without taking his bloodshot eyes off from the ruler of the world.

“Don’t you dare badmouth my dad,” he growled.

“The moment you strike that weapon against me,” she told him. “I’ll be forced to act in self-defense. Even if you survive, you’ll be labeled an enemy of the empire forever. Attempted regicide. Are you strong enough for that?”

Harkatronic paused. He was trembling with rage.

“Come on,” she added. “I’m sure you are.” Her voice lowered to a conspirational whisper. “Truth is, I want to fight you too. I got the urge. But, if I am to keep my reputation, I can’t attack first.”

Harkatronic gritted his teeth.

She wants to kill me, he thought. She’s looking for an excuse to destroy me. I can’t succumb to her tricks!

The Everbender raised a finger to her lips. “Let’s see… What can I say that will tick you off?”

I should leave, Harkatronic thought. He should get away. This was getting dangerous.

“You’re a Harkasonne, right?” she then said. “Your codename riffs off your last name.”

He didn’t reply. What was she getting to?

“Well, do you remember the kid who tried to face off against your soldiers in Stumpborn Village? The one who was with Kayden when I captured him here in Unbadda? The kid who helped him escape?”

Harkatronic’s heart sped up.

“His name is Thamlar Harkasonne,” she said. “And you’re going to kill him.”

– – –

Lauren dipped her brush in Harkatronic’s dead body.

A shame he’d lasted so little against her. She was really looking for a challenge. At least it had satisfied her urge.

Urge…

She forced the word out of her head as she got back to painting the mural of red flowers with Harkatronic’s blood. She was working on the side of a wall that had fallen onto some imperial soldiers during the dragon escape, as if the flowers had bloomed from the soldiers’ bodies. It looked pretty.

Her brush flew along the rock canvas with such precision and expertise she might as well be a professional painter instead. Her Timebending helped for when she messed it up, as did her Gravitybending for reaching the taller bits of the wall. She smiled as she polished the final thorns of the farthermost flower.

Now what?, she then thought.

The emptiness of fleeting clarity made Lauren’s smile crack and fade away.

This art means nothing.

She took a step backward.

Shut up, she told herself. Please don’t do this again.

She couldn’t stop the void.

Why… am I doing this? All of it. What’s even the point anymore?

…I gotta keep my condition at bay. My… addiction. Avoiding it would kill me.

So is my life worth more than that of others?

No. I’m not thinking clearly. It’s late; my thoughts are muddied.

What is my life worth?

Nothing. Your life’s worth nothing, Lauren. You’re no more than pain and suffering. For yourself and others. You don’t even understand your own mind. No one will come to save you, you know. You killed that chance.

Then why… am I still alive?

Lauren didn’t know how long passed as she stared on her knees at the mural of blood flowers. No one came looking for her. No one tapped her shoulder to see if she was okay. She didn’t cry. Her eyes were empty.

Eventually, slowly, she got to her feet.

“I…” she whispered, “will one day appear in history books as the world’s greatest artist to ever live. For that… I must stay alive.”