The Commander, discovering that Conway was indeed the culprit, sent a messenger back to the council and started making plans to travel through the academy in order to find and subdue Conway along with any possible students that were disease ridden.

Neo and his little group were kept on the side. They just watched as the soldiers split up into two different groups, one being sent down the underground route while the others would go through the jellyfish transport. Neo felt that if it was him, he would use the time he had to setup traps, road blocks, and even ambushes down the tunnel. So, he joined the group going down with the jellyfish.

There was however a problem, they tried ringing the bell in order to get its attention, but nothing rose, the lake was still. The soldiers started whispering, but their captains got them to shut it as the commander started thinking. When the bell suddenly rose out of the water and glowed, Bethany shot towards the commander informing him that it was that gravity thing that pulled Neo through the water the last time he was here.

Bethany came back skipping, with a huge grin on her face, "We're doing a full dive, get ready."

With that said, the soldiers started running and jumping into the lake, disappearing with a trail of bubbles behind them. With all of the soldiers disappearing it was soon Neo's group’s turn to dive. Griping onto his flute he ran and jumped as far as he could. He gasped as he entered the cold water and didn’t have enough time to get his breath back before he was violently yanked down. Neo had to hold onto the remains of his breath, as it took twice as long to get to the bottom than last time. Thankfully, his endurance had gotten better since the first time.

By the time he saw the light, his face was blue and the gasping breaths caused him to cough. His cold limbs weren't warming up and, looking around, he found that the sun hadn't moved or changed colour, producing a red hew that reflected around the dome. Neo was still falling towards the arenas, where he could easily see flashes of magic flying around teachers and students fighting with each other. With the soldiers joining the survivors, they started advancing on the people attacking. With their military training the students and teachers were quickly subdued.

As Neo got closer to the ground, he saw a friendly face. Elfin was sitting next to the glowing rune which Neo landed on. He ran off of the rune, as Bethany landed behind him, then the commander landed beside him and was quickly surrounded by people informing him of the goings on.

It was then that Neo realised that his friend was missing, looking up Neo saw the blue flaming meteor plummeting. Neo took a few extra steps back, as Gie wasn't slowing down, and the ground rumbled with his epic landing. Neo then waited for the almost traditional act to start, but nothing happened. Neo looked past the gaping scar in the middle of the arena to see Gie walking out of it, he paused and bowed towards Elfin, apologising.

Elfin didn't react at all he didn't move or seemed to register anyone around him. Neo got a bad feeling in his stomach and ran over. A metre away, Neo saw something sticking out behind his shoulder. "Healer!" Neo cried out. He heard fellow calls spreading out behind him. Neo drew closer to find that Elfin had a dagger coming out of his back. Neo’s instinct told him to pull it out, as it was unnatural, but he knew logically that he shouldn't. Elfin’s clothing was bloody and sweaty. Neo checked Elfin’s pulse and found it weak, but it still had a noticeable beat. He gentle shook Elfin andgot a moan in reply. "Hey, Elfin you awake?"

Elfin thankfully cracked a response, "Tell that damn rock that I'm going to snap that pretty new face off! Cough,cough…"

Neo smiled, "You seem fine, what happened to you?"

He coughed into his hand before pulling it back with blood evident on it. "I know as much as you do," he said. He thumbed behind him, "I think I got stabbed in the back. I couldn't react to it as I would have dropped you all, which wasn't an option, so I suffered. Thankfully, they didn't get another strike as my protectors chased the culprit off, not that I've seen them return. I don't think they will."

It was then that the combat healers marched over. Lying him down, they started healing him while pulling the knife out.

The commander eventually appeared and asked Neo what had happened. Neo informed the commander of possible assassins and explained what Elfin had said. The commander nodded and had guards put with each of the critical personal. There wasn't much else he could do, but Neo got some information in return. The commander told him that they had managed to gain control of the area and had shackled and detained a lot of mad students.

He had also sent scouts into the academy, finding the underground entrance with a large amount of traps, slowing down his reinforcements. But the scouts he had sent into the academy proper, hadn't returned. He guessed that it was where he would find the most resistance and was preparing to attack. He wanted Neo to go with an elite platoon to travel around the academy, sneakily around the edge, and find Conway. But first they had to get the reinforcements.

It wasn't long before there was a line of chained, raving mad students. Some had died and all were injured in some way. The soldiers only had some bruises and minor wounds, so they lined up in order and headed out to help clear the underground tunnels. It took all day to do so. Nothing else major happened to their group and the sun stayed in its unmoving, unchanging state.

They eventually met their reinforcements, after nearly an hour of work, and transferred the maddened students and teachers that they had collected on their arrival, and on their march to the tunnel, to the surface. Once everything had settled, the commander ordered the operation to go ahead. Neo, along with Bethany and Gie, were surround by a rather dishevelled group, but the commander guaranteed their combat abilities. Along with the soldiers, Jane also turned up, joining them in some light armour that didn't seem to restrict her movement to much.

There was a bit of time before they got to the academy. They passed through the arena, but the grounds were silent and it was eerily so, it made the commander cautious. The grounds stretching out until the main hall was missing the activity that had made it so alive the last time Neo walked through it. An advance force of heavily shielded soldiers walked forwards. Suddenly, the path in front of them was alight with magic and the area was flooded with thousands of maddened students and teachers as the illusion fell. Luckily, the maddened seemed just as oblivious to what had just happened as the soldiers. The temporary stillness was obliterated when they noticed the group of soldiers in their midst and began attacking them.

The commander’s innate character had him leading the charge into the mass of madness to get his men out, though not without ordering Neo's group to spilt off around the crowd first. Neo’s group charged past the main building and into the dorm, where they found the odd, wayward student or teacher. Neo didn’t have to do anything as the elite platoon took care of them in myriad different ways. Well placed hits on the head, sleep powder, powerful electric shocks, and so on, all of it undetected and silently.

Neo only job was to keep his head down, but when he passed his dorm, he tried to see through the curtains but there was a silver sheen blocking his view.The silver objectthen smashed through the glass, making Neo turn away to shield himself, and he felt it as Seren almost slapped him in the face and slipped around him, grafting on to his body. Silence reined as the glass finished its little braking. Neo heard the sounds of pounding feet. A group of students ran around the corner and charged on seeing them. Neo, through gritted teeth, spoke, annoyed at Seren, "What do you think you're doing, you could get us killed."

As he dodged back from a bloodied claw, Neo found his fist land underneath the jaw of the student in front of him. As soon as he had dealt with his opponent, he found that the rest of their force had suppressed the students and dragged him along as they left the area. Finally reaching open ground, Neo could see Jane's tower, but before that they had some hooded humanoid beings blocking their way.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Neo couldn't take his eyes off them, but Neo also got an itch that made him look at the wooded area. He smiled when he heard a soothing voice behind him. "Say Neo, didn't I say that you could only deal with them if they got in your way. Even if you can merely swipe your hands over them and they will disappear, there are skilled ones among them that you can't kill. But they are overall more skilled than your group, and your little group knows it. I can help for the price of all of your current soul count, the help will last for a limit amount of time!"

Death, having said that, made Neo smile gleefully, but he took in the looks of his group and found them sweaty and pale. Bethany even had a wary stance, Gie also looked a bit concerned and was still as a rock, it was quite disturbing."Guys, what's up, why are you all so worried?"

Bethany looked at Neo like he was an idiot. "Can't you feel that creeping chill? The presence that pierces the body and soul, it makes me feel sick."

The rest of the platoon nodded in conformation, but Neo nonchalantly voiced his feelings, "No, I don't feel a thing, but they look pretty weak and skinny. I'll handle them, you guys go on ahead. I'll catch up!"

The captain of the platoon was shocked at his words. "Are you crazy? They're not weak, they're anything but weak!"

Bethany spoke up, "I agree, they're dangerous, no one person here can win against all of them. Even Gie wouldn't win here."

Gie nodded but didn't speak, instead he just stared at Neo for a few moments, obviously seeing something that he liked. "Come on guy's, let's believe him and leave these beings to him. Move on to capture our target!"

Death spoke into his ears, "Could you ask for some blades."

Neo did and had a dozen given to him. He stepped forward to the front of the group and walked around with the platoon. The platoon went around, away from the woods. They had gotten to the other side, but the group of beings seemed to have supreme confidence, since they didn't move to block them. As they came to the other side, Bethany and Gie wished him luck and ran off towards Jane's tower.

Facing his opponents, who hadn't moved, the one in the woods had moved with his group and was going on past him. "Hey, you in the woods, come out here. I wouldn't want to have to go get you, it'll be a little annoying."

This seemed to get the notice of the beings in the field and they shifted as they seemed to change their mind on their opponent in front of them. A laugh echoed out of the woods then, and the being spoke in a voice that was like a fingernail across a black board, "Haha, wow, I never thought that objective three was such a spicy and confident meat bag."

Then one of the beings in the middle of the first group spoke, "So,all objectives are completed then, and this human is the one?"

The man who walked out of the woods wasn't really a man, as pieces of flesh weren’t attached to his face. Instead, it was made out of shadows and Neo could see some of the white of its bones. Neo thought, 'Hmm, their so they're undead. Hey, Death, sure I'll give up those souls to show me what the future might hold!"

The beings, who were still coming towards him, then disappeared. Neo's eyes didn't even see a blur, as he just disappeared with a red fireball lighting up the area. There was laughter that echoed in his ear before someone said, "Cloak of Death, Eye of Destiny, and Greater Divine unlocked."

The shade jumped behind Neo as a shadow, and before the shade could rip his throat out a blob formed around his neck and flowed down his body. It was made of darkness, with writhing forms reaching out, some with smiles, some with faces of fear and contempt. As the shade touched the cloak Neo could smell burning, and the shade jumped back holding its smouldering arm. With a grimace on his face he hissed a question. "What is that?"

Neo turned around to look at the shade that had reappeared behind him. Neo saw a face full of fear as he stared at the shade whose hand was smoking. Then Neo took out his flute, it glowed brightly and it started to move and pulse. It grewand reformed into a scythe that had holes running through it, the blade was double edged, with silver and gold threads running through it. Neo felt an electric shock in his hand and saw Seren, who had sparks flying off of it. That stopped with a slight pop and then Seren's silver hand holding his flute had gold threads flow throughout it. Neo’s top half of his body was covered in Seren and the golden threads that now ran through it, Neo thought, ’This is get a bit blingy.’

Neo examined the scythe, when he moved it, it whistled.He smiledat the shade who was wincing at the sound. Neo brought it down on the shade. The shade stepped forward and held up and arm to block it, but the pole went straight through his arm like a hot knife through butter and continued through his body, turning him into ash.

Turning around, Neo faced the eleven other beings who were no longer standing so relaxed. Before Neo could think of anything, they all moved. A weird effect happened to his sight and he could see where they would go and what they were going to do. Neo foresaw three of them sending magic in his direction, so Neo used his telekinesis, throwing three daggers. In a blink of an eye they were lodged in the skulls of his enemies, and they fell to the ground.

As he destroyed their plans, they changed them. Two more people tried touse magic to fight their way in and two more thrown daggers ended them. This time they seemed to reconsider and just decided to charged him. Neo, seeing who was coming first, intercepted their blade and used a knife to distract his opponent befores wiping his scythe through them. Intercepting another, again Neo uses his daggers, but the enemy jumped back and to the side, out of the way. Meanwhile, another attacked. Neo couldn't block and control the dagger, so it dropped to the ground, useless, while Neo reached through to the hand of the attacker and merely stroked them, turning the surrounding area to ash. With the blade falling out of the attacker’s hand Neo could plunge his whistling scythe down on the head of his screaming opponent.

'Four more to go,' Neo thought

The four of them had taken a step back. With hesitation seen in their bodies, Neo decided to take the initiative, but before he started his counter assault Neo felt a change. Now that there were only four, Neo was able to realize that only two were attracting him. The other two were standing beside each other in theirblack cloaks. Neo guessed that these were just a different species and not undead. He was definitely curious to know what they were.

Setting his sights on the other two undead, he charged forward, throwing the remaining blade at his opponent to buy his way in. He slaughtered the last two targets, their flesh unable to stop his blade as it sailed through. The two other non-undead managed to recover from the daggers and had charged. Neo changed his grip to the bladed end and used the pole to try to knock them back, but it was a great way of getting him into trouble. One of the beings surprised him by grabbing the pole and pulling him forward. Neo didn’t resist and went with it. The two beings pointed their blades at him. Neo didn't want to test Seren's ability to save him, so he simply used his hands to slide one of the blades out of way.

Neo slid past, having dropped his scythe he went ham to fist with the being’s head, pummelling it to the floor. Neo got a bit carried away and he got distracted, a manic grin spread across his face. The other being had jumped onto him, stabbing him in the back, but Neo merely heard screams as its hand burned. With its blade gone, Neo, now paying attention,pushedits head back. Placing another hand on the small of its back, Neo pulled in the opposite direction. Once it was falling, Neo put all his force into its head, slamming it to into the ground, and, with a slight whimper, the fight left it.

Picking up his scythe and dragging it behind him, Neo walked over to the five remaining beings and sliced them each in half, turning them into ash. Neo took the time to check what they were, when he unravelled their bindings and cloaks, he found bones and shadowy chains wrapping around them, which had been cut cleanly.

As he went through the corpses, he noticed that the chains weren't at a set size, as one corpse had a dozen thick chains and another had hundreds of thin chains. Having made sure that the dead didn't rise yet again, He went to see if the other two were alive and willing to talk. Even so, he checked them over, finding some hidden blades, but also found out that they were definitely female, dressed in leather. He took the masks off, finding two pretty but young faces. It took a while until they managed to awaken, finding themselves bound.

They struggled against the handcuffs he'd found in some of the piles of ash and clothing. "Now then ladies, if that's what you are, what's your goals here?"

The tall and slightly more mature looking woman spokein a soft but strong voice, "We'll, never…" She never got to finish her sentence as her face smashed into the ground.He'd also had swords behind their heads, which he was floating there in order to slap or kill them if the chain didn't hold.

Death spoke annoyingly into his ear, it was constantly weird to turn around only to realise he wasn’tthere. "Hey, so here's something that might help you, Overture of Death!"

Neo didn't get any insight to this move but, thankfully, Death guided him by saying, "Just ask them a question and stare at them intently."

Neo took a breath and stared at the two of them as if seeing past them and into their souls."Tell me everything!"