I appeared in a grove of trees under the dawn's sky. Sunlight was piercing the sky and I headed toward the north grove. I didn't rest all night, I just kept moving until I reached my destination. The trees seemed calm and there was no one else in sight. I held Ariel and Richard's baby close in my arms. I didn't know if I made it to the right location but I waited.

"I thought I said not to appear until you have the relic." A voice called out.

I looked around me to see that I had been surrounded.

"You were very quick, do you have it or not?"

There were Elves in the trees all pointing arrows at me.

"I do," I said.

Soon a gust of wind breezed through the grove and King Ren greeted me.

"I didn't think you would be able to get it back to me in one day."

"There has been a change of plans," I said.

King Ren looked at me and sharpened his eyes.

"Greed is it? Humans are all the same." King Ren snorted at me.

"No, not that," I said. "What I care about is life."

I show the baby wrapped in a cloth to the Elven King.

"Her life," I said.

"What do you want?" King Ren asked.

"Take her, take care of her until she's able to do so on her own," I replied. "I don't need the gold."

"Why can't you?"

I felt the brand on my neck and shook my head.

"I'm marked, I don't think I can take care of her or give her a life away from the dirt I'm covered in," I said.

The baby looked like she wanted to touch my face with her tiny hands.

"Promise me," I asked. "Promise me that you will take care of her."

The Elf King looked at me and stared into my eyes.

"Alright, I'll take care of her, " he said. "What's her name?"

King Ren took the baby and held her in his arms.

"I don't know," I replied.

The baby seems to look at him puzzled but she often moved her eyes to me.

"Then would it be alright for me to name her?" The Elven King said.

"Do what you think is best," I said.

King Ren looked down at her.

"I had many children before and they all left me now," King Ren said. "It would be interesting to raise a human."

I bow my head to the Elven King.

"You look like my old friend, the Witch of the Woods," He said while looking at the baby. "Her name was Eliza."

I felt a mix of emotions while watching the baby in his arms.

"I think I'll name her Lizzie, after one of my old friends." The Elf said.

I nodded my head and produced the relic over to the Elf.

"What will you do now?" He asked.

"Something else and once I'm done, something away from the Royal Capital," I said.

The Elven King threw a sword at my feet.

"Use it," He said. "You look like you might need it."

I picked up the sword and looked over the blade to see my dirty reflection.

The Elf King put his hood over his head and left with the baby in his arms. Soon the movement of wind came and the people that surrounded me disappeared. I stood there and watched for awhile before quietly disappearing myself. I needed to return to the Royal Capital and find answers before I left it behind me.

I moved with purpose as I quickly returned to the city. The Royal Capital looked so much darker now. I hid the sword from the Elven King under my cloak as I scurried around the city. I was going to find Magnus and I was going to make him pay. The lives and the future of my friends were stolen by this man.

I felt a burning hatred for him in my heart.

The maze of the city was the same, it was a place that my body couldn't forget. I didn't know how long I'd been gone but I moved through the city just the same. A nagging ache of frustration and hatred raged throughout my body. I made it to the mansion hidden inside the slums of the royal capital.

Walking towards the underground tunnel, I held my sword out to declare my intentions. I covered my face with my hood securely. As soon as I made it to the door a scene of carnage came to my eyes. The guards who protected the underground tunnel had been murdered. Their blood painted the ground and the walls of the tunnel. I slowed my steps and walked through with caution.

Something terrible happened here and the smell of death wavered in the air.

I passed through the door where Magnus meets everyone and see that it was destroyed. More bodies were within and the shade of black burnt the ground. Claw marks seemed to be everywhere in the room. What happened? The events in the underground tunnel looked rather recent. I could see another door from the meeting room and I assumed that it led up to the mansion above.

I opened the door and a walkway of stairs appeared. I followed the stairs and its path led me upward. A door greeted me at the end but it was broken in half. Now the bodies of servants in a hallway came before my eyes. The hallway was filled with fine furnishings and decorative items. I knew I was inside the mansion that I always saw but never entered. Someone had already done my work for me in killing everyone.

Deep gashes of claws were on the bodies of the dead.

Fine oak walls, pine floors, and other things went past my vision. Magnus did very well for himself as the mansion looked more luxurious than the area it was situated in. Where was Magnus? I could only see bodies and the color of blood soaking in the rich environment. Suddenly I heard some movement up above me and ran into the main hall of the mansion.

The sound of snarling and growling echoed the mansion.

A scream was sounded upstairs and I moved quickly into the main foyer. The sound was from the second floor above the grand staircase. Some double doors were broken through by claw marks. As I came close to the broken doors my eyes witnessed the black fur of a huge beast. It stood almost eight feet tall and dark black fur covered its body. The bulge of its muscles showed that it shouldn't be trifled with. Its head looked like a wolf and it stood on its hind legs.

The beast had its claws sunken into the body of Magnus.

"THE RELIGION OF THE VEIL PLANNED IT!?" The beast roared.

"Yes! They asked me to steal it!" Magnus said.

"Why didn't you try and steal it yourself!?"

"It was suicide! It was the Royal Castle! Even if I did steal it, I wouldn't be allowed to be in the city anymore!"

"So, you told a group of young boys to steal it instead?" The beast growled.

"They were expendable! If they did, it would have worked out for us all!" Magnus replied.

"But you were only going to pay them 100 gold coins?"

"They didn't know how much it was worth! It was their own fault!" Magnus said.

The beast clawed into Magnus who screamed out in pain. I lowered my sword in watching the scene. I didn't know what this 

monster was but I wasn't going to stop him from killing Magnus. The monster seemed to hate Magnus and terrorized him. Fear filled Magnus and then his eyes happen to me.

"Save me!" Magnus yelled.

The beast turned around and saw me with a roar.

"I'm not your enemy!" I said.

The beast didn't seem satisfied with my answer.

"You're in the house of a thief and a murderer," The beast said. "But you're not my enemy?"

Magnus tried to crawl away in the confusion and the beast crushed his leg.

"Anyone who is friends with this vile scum is my enemy!"

The beast tried to claw me and I evaded down below him. I use my sword to cut at his arm and blood was spilled. It felt good to know that at least this monster bled. The monster howled and clawed at me. I twirled around the attack and he ripped parts of my cloak. I kept my hood down so that my identity wouldn't be known.

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I was quicker than this beast but ultimately too weak. Trying to block one of his attacks with my sword felt like my bones would shatter on impact. I kept running around the room to escape his attacks. The monster's stamina seemed endless and his red eyes looked to thirst for my blood. The sound of Magnus trying to escape caught my attention and I took my eyes off the beast.

The beast charged at me and I couldn't dodge in time. He grappled me and threw me down from the second floor. I landed hard on the wood surface in the foyer and dropped my sword. The wind in my lungs escaped and I tried gasping for air. This beast tossed me around like I was nothing. How was I going to fight this monster?

The beast showed up holding Magnus from the second floor and dropped him with a thud. Magnus screamed as both his legs were now mangled. He looked to be a mess of broken bones and blood. The monster dropped down from the second floor on top of Magnus. An explosion of guts and body parts occurred as Magnus was crushed.

"Now your master is dead and soon you'll be!" The beast said.

"He's not my master!" I said.

"A thief that wouldn't follow the orders of Magnus?" The beast said. "Don't make me laugh."

The monster seemed to snicker at me and I got up to stand my ground.

"Come then, I lost everything to Magnus," I said. "What does it matter anymore?"

I unfurled my cloak and picked up my sword from the ground.

"Demitri?"

The beast stopped as he saw me almost like he knew me. His claws moved toward me like he wanted to touch my face but didn't. The monster stood still looking at me and then began to change. It screamed and the black fur that covered its body started to disappear. Its muscles and body distorted as it held its arms across its chest. Soon the black hair on its head transformed blonde and the monster became a man.

I held my breath and saw that it was Richard.

Richard stood up with blood and sweat covering his body. His eyes were bloodshot and his face looked like he hasn't slept. The blonde hair that once stood on his head, draped down to his waist. Scars covered his body and he looked so much older than I remember him. Gone was his cheerful demeanor replaced with a stoic expression.

"Richard," I said. "You're alive!"

I dropped my sword and ran up to Richard to hug him.

"You look like you've been through hell," Richard said.

I started laughing as I held him tight before releasing my hold.

"What happened to you? Where's Diego?" I said.

Richard's expression became grim.

"He died," Richard replied. "We waited for you for too long."

"What?"

"I told him to, even though he said we should leave."

I crumpled to the floor.

"They found us and attacked us on the boat," Richard continued with tears. "Diego covered me with his body and I couldn't even tell who he was anymore with all the arrows."

My body felt weak and I went limp.

"What happened to you Demitri?" Richard asked.

"I was caught and imprisoned for I don't know how long," I replied.

Richard looked at me and soon dropped his gaze.

"I was injured and floated out to sea," Richard said.

There was a crack in Richard's voice.

"I don't know how long I floated out in the sea but I was found in Demon Territory," Richard said.

"Demon Territory!?" I said.

"Yes," Richard said. "I made a pact with the devil."

"Is that why you were in that monstrous form?"

Richard nodded his head.

"Take the Relic and sell it, I buried it in the flower garden, take care of Ariel," Richard said.

My eyes moved away from Richard.

"Ariel, she's dead," I said.

"What!? Who was that living in our house!" Richard said.

"That was someone else," I replied.

Richard fell down to his knees and slammed his fist on the ground.

"It's been so long and I didn't go to see her! I was ashamed!" Richard cried. "I-I didn't…oh, gods."

"But you're alive!" I said. "We can make it through together!"

Richard looked up at me and shook his head.

"Kill me," Richard said.

"No! What are you saying?" I said.

"The power of a Lycan will soon consume me," Richard said. "The beast wants to take over."

"What!?"

"It was the price I paid to get my revenge."

Richard looked at me with a weak smile.

"I have no reason to fight it anymore."

"What about your daughter!" I yelled.

"My child? She's alive!?" Richard said.

Richard seemed to think for a moment but looked at his blood stained hands.

"No, there's nothing I can give her."

"You just have to be alive! You can be her father!" I said.

"I'm a monster, Demitri."

"No, you're my family!"

Richard smiled at me.

"The way you look at life is why everyone loves you Demitri."

Richard began to shake and a darkness started to cover his body.

"What's happening!?" I said.

"This power! The beast it's trying to take over!" Richard screamed.

I stood there watching as Richard was convulsing on the floor.

"Kill me!"

"No! I can't!"

"Before anything else happens! Before I let more of my family die! Before I kill you! You must kill me Demitri! I'm a monster!" Richard yelled.

My eyes started tearing and I grabbed the sword on the floor.

"Do it! Demitri!" Richard said.

The black fur slowly covered Richard and his muscles distorted.

"I won't be able to fight it! Let me die as a man! Let me go see Ariel and Diego!" Richard said.

Tears streamed down my face as I contemplated.

"I can't...I CAN'T!" I said.

Richard stood up in a half-Lycan form and roared.

"Do it!...Before I kill you!" Richard growled.

Richard moved his claws at me but before he could I stabbed him in his heart with my sword.

"I'm sorry," I said.

"No, thank you," Richard muttered. "Live on Demitri, for the rest of us."

Richard smiled and fell over dead. The darkness that covered his body evaporated like a mist. He was human again and had a peaceful look on his face. He was fighting his demons just like I was. He became covered in darkness and he couldn't fight it anymore. I just hoped that he could see Ariel and Diego to where he was going.  

I lost my family again and I wept.

Richard had told me to live on for the rest of them that couldn't. That was what I knew I had to do, to live on for those who died. I hated living and I was scared of dying but I lived on because of the dead. It was for my family and friends. All those who had gone before me into the void.

I had thought I would leave stealing behind me but that never happened. I didn't believe I would get new friends or even someone I could follow again but even that changed. I was happy again when I met with the Hero and my companions but even that changed.

I didn't know what the future would bring me now.

But I did know that my future was covered in darkness.