Finn gasped as a terrible cold rushed through his body, and he was again surrounded by darkness. For an awful moment, he was sure that the Asai of Shadow had tricked him, and these powers were traps…

But then, just as suddenly, he was stumbling into the light and skidding across a marble floor carved into a fractal mosaic pattern in a circular room.

Good, healthy sunlight streamed in through the open doors, and Finn could see the wall-top avenue beyond with the ruined domes and spires in the distance.

“I made it! This is the Tower of Time!” Finn laughed, feeling giddy with how quick and easy that had been. If only he’d had this power at the start of the race!

The truth of where he was hit home a moment later. He was in the Tower of Time, the very center of the Order of Celestial Grace’s power, and what should have been the home of the instructor, the Chief Acolyte of Time.

The doors were open. Instructor Lem was long gone, destroyed by the other premiers. There was no one there, and the large chamber was bare. Finn slowly turned around and saw the stone stairwell that led up to the laboratories. His gaze returned to the center of this room, where all the marble tiles met. There was a giant, carved design of interlocking circles there—the insignia of the Celestial Engines.

The last time he had been here, the Celestial Register had erupted from the center of the room by an unseen mechanism. Was it really so simple as to just walk toward it?

“You!” There was a murderous, scandalized shout from the door, and Finn looked up to see Vheti—the would-be Fire Lodge Premier, would-be instructor—limping through the open doors.

Oh yeah, the race, Finn remembered.

“You’re too late. I got here first, Vheti,” Finn announced, but from the look on his opponent’s face, there was no way he was going to back down now.

“Trickery! I should have won!” Vheti roared, a curving sword appearing in one hand with a flicker of red flame.

“Now, Vheti, fair and square, I’m here first. There’s no need…” Finn began, but the other man was incensed. He threw a hand forward, sending a bolt of fiery energy straight at Finn.

All of attributes are temporarily increased, thanks to the Asai of Shadow! The thought flashed through Finn’s mind as he leaped to one side, hitting the stone floor and rolling. He came up into a crouch.

His Agility was very high… and then he thought of the Prism of Shadow. His attributes weren’t the only thing that had been increased. He also had an extra 500 Mana and could probably obliterate Vheti any time he wanted to.

“Vheti, stop!” Finn shouted as he threw up his fists, fire blazing around them defensively. He knew that he had already won, especially with his new powers. There was no need for more death…

Vheti did not appear to agree, and he didn’t relent. The crazed man charged into the Tower of Time, leaping into the air as flames curled up his body, around his arm, and down to his blade.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

With a grunt, Finn equipped the Pyrrhic Blade and brought it up with both hands to parry the younger Defender’s blow.

Finn’s blow was so strong that it knocked Vheti’s arm wide, possibly breaking it in the process. With a cry of pain, the man released his blade and it clattered to the floor.

“Vheti, I won. Stop this madness!” Finn shouted.

But Vheti was incensed. As Finn spoke, his challenger threw both fists forward in a double punch, and red energy exploded from them.

>  

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> You have been struck by the Level 19 Defender for 220 points of damage.

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> You receive 50% less damage from fire-based attacks.

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> You receive 110 points of damage.

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>  

Finn felt pain flare through him as he was thrown backward, one foot sliding across the stone. Vheti must have thrown everything he had into that strike. It had hurt, and it stoked the fire Finn always felt.

Vheti wasn’t going to give up. He had wanted Finn to die in the race, and he had sabotaged the bridge to do it.

People like Vheti are never going to give up, Finn thought, with resignation. He moved lithely around the tower, moving back and forth like a boxer as Vheti advanced.

“You are what’s wrong with all of this. All of everything!” Vheti spat. “We could have been safe here in the Celestial Order, if everyone had listened to me. If the other lodges just gave up, realized we were the strongest…”

“If they accepted you as the new instructor?” Finn asked, side-stepping a high kick.

Finn returned his blade to his inventory so they were both bare-fisted. He could tell that Vheti was probably more skilled in hand-to-hand, but Finn had the speed, the strength, and the Mana.

“Yes!” Vheti shouted in outrage as they circled each other. “I would never lead anyone out there into the realms. The New Zone equals death! Everyone knows that.”

He’s got a point, Finn had to agree, but he could also feel the shadow prism inside him and what it meant. Past Vheti’s shoulder, he could see the haze of smoke and destruction across the citadel.

“The outer realms have already come here, Vheti. You know that. Time has abandoned this place, and you’re on your own. I can provide some hope. A new direction. Better that then to wait for this place to get inundated with more undead or some new invader…” Finn said.

Vheti charged and threw a punch, which Finn dodged. The man tried to knee Finn in the midsection, Finn easily dodged that too. The enraged, wannabe Premier tried a spinning, backward fist…

Finn caught the attack on his forearm, then stepped in to grab Vheti’s shirt and shove him roughly back, his increased Strength launching the man backward.

Vheti skidded to the door and through it, falling to the floor as Finn advanced on him.

“It’s over,” Finn said angrily. “You’ve lost. We’re supposed to be Defenders, that is what we chose when we reached Level Ten, and that is what this place is for, damn it! We’re supposed to go out into the realms and defend people against the monsters! That is what I am going to ask the Fire Lodge and any who’ll come with me to do!” Finn loomed over Vheti, his fists starting to spark with crimson energy.

Finn glowered at the other Defender and saw doubt creep into the man’s face. His mouth wobbled, and his eyes grew large. In that moment, Finn knew he had won.

“You… You’re not going to kill me?” Vheti asked in a small voice.

“Of course not! Why should I? You’re a Defender, Vheti, just like me. That must mean there is at least some part of you that wants to be a hero. Wants to be a good person. And from what I’ve seen on the outside, we need every good person we can get out there. We need good fighters like you.” Finn offered a hand to his fallen enemy…

Just as there was the slightest shift in the air at his back. A foul smell.

Vheti’s eyes went from large to saucer plates, and his face flushed. Finn saw that he was looking directly over his shoulder at something. Then, there was the gun-crack snap of thunder.

Oh no.

It wasn’t thunder at all, though. It was the coming of the wyvern.