The fennec snarled, its eyes darting around the underground rocky terrain. It had lost track of the long-eared woman after the unexpected smoke attack. She was worthy, matching its speed without relying on tricks like the unworthy who banished it for a few millennia. Despite the smoke, she did not attack yet. Whatever strategy she was planning, it would counter.

Suddenly, an explosion resonated from above. The fennec's head snapped upward, then quickly jumped away as a stalactite crashed where he had been. Once landing on the ground, the beast raised its halberd while eyeing the surroundings. It locked eyes with Reinstar, who stood on a boulder with her hand glowing purple. A smug smile spread across its face before bolting toward her.

In response, the canokian swiftly swiped her hand, releasing a torrent of violet arrowheads. The agile fox made a quick ninety-degree turn to evade the adroit. The fennec swiftly swiped it halberd, releasing an airwave. The violet-haired woman darted away before it hit while unleashing more arrowheads at the fennec, forcing the beast to evade. Another explosion echoed through the air. Quickly looking up to see five more stalactites falling around him, it jumped away before one crashed on top of him. Growling at the large piece of rock before him, it wondered if she was a worthy challenge. It raced around the rock to track the woman, then growled at another piece of rock in front of it. Its ears twitched slightly. Quickly trusting its instincts, it bent over from having its head sliced off. The beast swung its weapon, only for the woman to leap above it and kick it across the face.

Staggering back, it brought up the weapon again to block another strike. What followed was the duo trading blows while running across the terrain. Their eyes locked onto each other's form, never wavering. The fennec noted that the woman's eyes were glowing. It did not care why, but she was matching its speed for the most part. Metal kept clashing, but someone had to make a mistake. There it was when she tripped. It kicked the woman away, then leaped at her and sliced through her torso.

Smirking in victory, yet... the woman did not scream nor shout. Why? Wait, what was that? There was no blood? Its ears perked, then looked around. A shocked expression etched on its features before twisting in anger.

"Trickster!" It shouted.

Before the beast were four copies of the shinobi, each with the same glowing eyes and holding the same sword.

"Trickery?" the woman's voice echoed through the air. "Yes, yes, it is. Where I am from, being a warrior shrouded in the shadows, one has to know the skills to deceive."

"Speed matched speed." it growled as it jumped away from the 'woman'.

"I enjoyed the match, but... did you honestly expect me to keep fighting you with just speed? I wondered... would I lose my stamina quicker than you."

"One... worthy, other unworthy."

"I apologize for wounding your pride, but that man is about to unleash a threat upon the world, and I need to assist in case things go wrong."

Anger boiled within the beast before launching himself at the copies of the long-eared woman. Honing on one of them, the beast swung the halberd, but the replica brought up the sword to block the halberd. The beasts snarled and kicked the woman away before swinging the halberd again. He stopped when he saw something glowing in the corner of his eye. He tried moving away, but one of the arrowheads struck his side. He ignored the pain and continued to try to fight the five replicas. Choosing the next target, he brought down the halberd, only to be blocked by one diving in, sword aiming at his head. He punched it in the face and tried to pull away when the previous target swiftly swung her sword. He hissed at being sliced across the face.

The beast roared before reaching out to claw the clone. He managed to slice through the face, but there was no blood. It was just like the other fake. What was going on? Then, all the violet-haired women descended on him with their blades. He began to do battle with all five at once. Blocking and attacking, making sure his speed was proved better, but he noticed something: the coordination and her scent. She was with the clones. Each one was defending the other while another struck. It needed an opening, but there was none. The beast yelped in pain at being sliced across the legs, chest, and arms, then received a punch in the face. It jumped away while bleeding. As soon it landed on the ground, it hissed in pain before collapsing to its knees. Was it out of shape after years of bondage? It was faster, but his pain tolerance never recovered.

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"Trickster."

"Again, I apologize. I wanted to test myself, but in the end, I must remember to improve for a rematch with another opponent."

"Technique."

"All you need to know is that when my eyes glow, I create duplicates from stone. Mineral Mirror Vision."

Realization struck the monster; that was probably why she brought down the stalactite.

"People have called me, 'Multi Blade Maiden of Silence.'

A small part of Reinstar wanted to keep the creature alive, maybe try to befriend it, help train it. However, there was another part from experience not to leave a potential threat alone for it to return later. Whether intentionally or not, later would come to bite her. She could not take that risk.

"Farewell."

An explosion rained in the air. The beast looked up and felt despair as the stalactite descended upon him. It closed its eyes as darkness overtook him and felt nothing. Reinstar stood on the boulder with her four clones. She sighed, then deactivated her eye technique. Immediately, her clones reverted to pieces of rock. She closed her, making a silent prayer before looking on at the final grave of the beast.

"Sorry, but this is more urgent than a duel. That shift in pressure has me worried."

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-Temple-

The door was fully opened. His expectations were high; his goal was right in front of him. However, what he expected was not what he got. He was met with a large navy blue stone room. He marched through while growing irritated about this being another dead end. Was this the place where desires are granted? This could be a trap, so he tried cautiously. He came this far, and dying was not part of his goal. The room was oddly cold compared to the rest of the temple. It was odd; what kind of power made it this way? He stopped walking when he was in the middle of the room. He looked around, expecting some being to descend to grant him what he desired or just a space to trick people.

"Hello?"

"Greetings."

Startled at the sudden voice, he quickly turned to face a yellow-robed figure standing in front of a cauldron. Neither were present when entered. Where did they come from?

"Huh? You were not there before?"

"I chose not to meet your sight."

"Who are you? What is this place? I expected a place where I could gain control to grant people their desires!"

"Only I can grant them." the voice spoke calmly.

"You?" The Masked Piper took out his flute. "Then give me the power to grant the desires of everyone."

"Fool, you cannot handle that power."

"With this, I can." He raised the flute. "This gave me a small taste of it."

"Fool." chuckled the robed figure. "You cannot handle the gift of granting desires."

"People need me to give them what they want!" growling came from his voice. "I will do that."

"What is your desire?"

"To see my wife again."

"I can do that. I can give your partner back."

"Then let me have the power, or I will take it from you."

"Foolish, mortal." The eyes of the robed figure glowed yellow. "You cannot handle the power."

"Then I will take the power!" He moved the flute to his mouth.

The robed figure quickly raised its hand, freezing the piper place.

"Ah!" The piper shouted in fear. "Wh... what? I can't move!"

The robed figure chuckled. "Truly, the lust for power has blinded you... no, your heart weeps for the loss of love." The robed figure turned to the entryway, seeing Tina in the doorway with a horrified expression. "You... do you?"

Tina squeaked before backing away and into the illusion. "No, stay away."

The robed figure chuckled. "Hmm... I guess I can wait until the knights of order arrive; they should be here soon." It turned to look at the man. "You desire power..."

"Those kids..." He growled at the thought of the Radiant. "They have been a thorn in my side."

"You desire the power to fight them?"

"Yes!"

"Then..." It chuckled, grabbing the flute that was still in the Masked Piper's grasp. "You shall have the power to fight them. You said you had a taste of this power? Then you can have the meal."

Once the robed figure poured power into the instrument, it let go. A moment later, the instrument glowed brightly, enveloping it and the man. The musician's eyes widened as a bright light enveloped his body; he screamed when he felt his body changing. Tina moved away from the room. Once she was further away from the entrance, the room door began to close. She whirled around to face down the dark corridor, ignoring the screams.

"Where are you all?"