Orin’s first instinct was to attack. To seize the initiative and to turn the momentum of battle in his favour. At least that’s what his brain said, but he found himself rooted to the spot. The others were the same, rooted in fear. Fear. Was he afraid? Of this creature? The thought of that rankled him, but he curbed his anger. It seemed this creature knew of him. The past him. Besides, it wasn’t attacking. Yet.

The demon sighed and raised its hand, causing the others, Orin included to take an involuntary step back. It shook his head and made a grimace that seemed to be an attempt at a bemused smile before holding up a crystal ball and muttering an incantation. The ball began to glow with a soft blue light, and soon, a face appeared within that was obscured by a hood worn low over it.

“He is here, Master,” the demon said, bowing its head deferentially before turning the ball so that it faced Orin.

The figure in the ball looked at Orin expectantly. When the warrior didn’t answer, he sighed. “Well, what do you have to say for yourself?”

The man’s voice was familiar and caused the warrior’s temper to flare. This was no friend of his. “Who are you?” he demanded.

The man sighed again. “The memories did not hold. Appraise him. See if he is of use to us.”

“And if he isn’t?” the demon ventured.

“I will leave that to your discretion.”

The demon let the ball fall from its taloned hand and turned to Orin. They were standing roughly a hundred yards apart, but the demon closed the distance in the blink of an eye. Orin scarcely had time to raise his weapon as the creature brought its sword down. Behind him, he heard the woman chant quickly.

A faint blue barrier crackled into existence around Orin just as the demon’s weapon was about to land. However, it shattered in the blink of an eye, and the swords made contact. The impact from the blow sent Orin hurtling across the tunnel and crashing into a stone wall.

Orin gasped from pain as he struggled to his feet. The demon flapped its wings, sending out gusts of hot wind that scalded the face and drove the others back. Orin rolled out of the way as the demon brought the sword down on where he had been lying with such force that it shook the ground under their feet.

The warrior’s head went blank, and he felt helpless in the face of such power. The creature slowly got to its feet, keeping its back to the warrior and shook its head.

“Are you so gripped with fear that you would not even attack my exposed back?” it asked, sounding disappointed.

Orin was stunned. The creature was right. It had provided the perfect opportunity for him to attack. Why hadn’t he taken it? He was afraid. Terrified. What of? Death? Death would come anyway if he cowered in fear. Was he waiting for someone to come save him? That thought angered him. That would make him no better than the three cowards who had hidden in the forest while their companions were slaughtered.

“How far you’ve fallen,” the demon continued. It turned around slowly and ran a taloned hand over the scar on its face. “To think that I suffered my only defeat to your hands in eight hundred years of existence.”

The demon took to the air again and landed on the one carrying the shield, who had attempted to make a run for the stairs, crushing him under a hoofed foot.

“Dustan!” the woman cried.

“I had intended to run you through with your own sword,” the creature said. “But there would be no sport in slaughtering you as you are now. Take it up. See if it jogs your memory. If you are not able to put up a challenge, I will end you here and toss you among the other cowards who attempted to escape.”

Orin closed his hand around the sword. It was heavy. Far heavier than the greatsword from the manor, but its weight in his hands was familiar. Like an old companion. He swung it, and it made a dreadful sound as it cut through the air.

“It appears that some measure of the old you has returned.” A smile crept across its face, and it held its arms out in the air. Moments later, an axe materialized in each of its hands, seemingly out of thin air. Each was bone white and as tall as the average man.

Orin held the massive blade out in front of him and took a deep breath. He was hit in the face by another gust of scalding wind as the creature took to the air, but this time, he didn’t flinch. Instead, he focused on his anger. Anger that this creature had taken pity on him. Anger at its words. He would choke it on them.

The warrior sidestepped the first axe as the creature landed and angled his sword to deflect the second into the ground next to him. Though the angle was perfect, the initial impact still shook his bones. The warrior ignored his screaming muscles as he brought his sword around to strike at the creature’s knee.

The demon raised its cloven hoof to avoid the strike before taking to the air again, this time it landed a good distance away and shook the tunnel with its laughter.

“That was better, but not enough to make my blood boil,” it roared.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“Come back here and I’ll do more than boil your blood,” Orin roared back. The warrior didn’t for a response and began closing the distance. He knew he could not just sit back and defend against this creature. Besides, that wasn’t his style.

The creature flapped its wings again, but this time, instead of propelling the demon up, they propelled it forward. Orin’s first instinct was to step out of the way, but the fighter in him told him that a clash was the better option. The warrior planted his feet and swung his weapon with all of his might. Their weapons clashed, but the momentum behind the demon sent Orin hurtling into another wall.

The demon didn’t give him a moment to recover and was on top of him in a flash. Another deflected blow created an opening, and Orin gritted his teeth when he felt the muscles in his arm tear as he brought the sword around for a quick counter, bringing it down on the creature’s shoulder. The creature roared in pain as the sword bit into its flesh. The cut wasn’t deep, and Orin knew it. His body had given out at the last.

The demon lashed out with a fist, sending Orin flying, but the warrior clung stubbornly onto his sword, which clattered on top of him. Slowly, the warrior got to his feet, ignoring the sharp pain in his side. His ribs were probably broken and his left arm hung limply by his side. He had torn the muscles in that arm to unleash his last strike. He knew his situation was hopeless, but he was determined not to go down without a fight. Using his remaining strength, he lifted the massive sword onto his shoulder. He had one last strike in him, then he was done.

The demon knew this and grinned wickedly as it cast one of its axes aside and held the remaining one with both hands. The next exchange would be the last and Orin would put everything into his swing. The demon flapped its wings and flew towards him like an arrow. Orin unleashed his swing early, targeting the creature’s axe. The weapon flew from its hands, but the warrior lacked the strength to capitalize on the opening.

The demon recovered in time to bring its fist down on Orin’s back. The warrior fell to the ground with a sickening crack. Then came the second blow, and Orin blacked out for a moment. Fear mixed with rage, and he forced his broken body to stand. He held stubbornly onto his sword even though he no longer possessed the strength to lift it.

The creature was poised to bring another double handed blow down on Orin’s head but instead, stepped back and wiped the black spittle from its mouth. “Ah, I forgot my instructions for a moment there.”

Orin looked up and was at a loss. He had committed himself to a battle to the death and forgotten everything else.

“You could still be of use to the master,” the demon observed. “Though you have a long way to go.”

“You were a hairsbreadth to being cut in two,” Orin spat.

The demon let out a feral snarl and lunged for Orin when the crystal ball flared back into life, and the voice from earlier spoke. “That is enough, Gatekeeper.”

The demon stopped in its tracks and let out a frustrated roar.

“Who are you?” Orin demanded as he limped towards the ball.

“You don’t remember?” the figure asked. Slowly, he began to pull back his hood.

He could not put a name to the face, but it was familiar, and it triggered intense hate in him, followed by blinding rage. With a furious roar, he forced his ruined muscles to lift his sword and brought it down on the ball. When his sword struck the orb, it exploded with a blinding white light and an unseen force propelled him across the tunnel.

“I will be waiting for you in the castle,” he heard the man’s voice say as his consciousness began to slip. “I look forward to seeing you again, old friend.”

Orin forced his eyes open. He knew he had been unconscious but was unsure for how long. He scrambled to his feet and reached for his sword but found that it wasn’t sheathed across his back and that he wasn’t wearing his armour. His heart sank. He was unarmed and ripe for the taking. Then, he realized he wasn’t alone. The woman, Spear, and Rus were all looking at him.

“Ah, you’re awake,” the hunter remarked and looked pointedly at a pile of weapons nearby. “Your things are over there.”

“How long was I out for?” Orin asked. As he picked his weapons up, beginning with the massive sword the demon said was his, he found that his body was sore, but wasn’t in pain like he was expecting.

“I took the liberty of healing you,” she said. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“No, I…” the warrior struggled to articulate the words before simply deciding to say. “Thank you.”

“Well, you’re conscious, and all is well,” Rus said.

“The demon, what happened to it?” Orin asked.

“He left,” Spear said. “It looked like he tore a hole in the fabric of reality and just disappeared through it.”

Orin stared at the young man for a moment before shaking his head and shooting Rus an inquisitive look.

“That’s about how I would describe it,” the hunter agreed. “Never seen anything like it. Then again, I’ve never encountered a demon before either.”

Orin couldn’t help but feel deeply frustrated. He had been bested, and his foe had spared his life. He had to bite his lip to stop himself from cursing out loud.

“How do you feel?” the woman asked as she looked at Orin with concern. “Does it hurt anywhere?”

“No,” Orin said after stretching his limbs. “You’ve done a fine job.”

“We can’t thank you enough,” she said. “If it wasn’t for you, we would have died down here.”

“You should accompany us on our journey to the surface,” Spear offered.

Orin thought he saw a hint of doubt in both Spear and the woman’s faces but shrugged it off. He shook his head and turned back towards the gates behind them. “No, it appears my business is in the castle.”

“You know it’s a trap, don’t you?” Rus remarked.

Orin nodded. “It might well be, but it’s the only clue I have to discovering who I once was.”

“Why don’t you just forget about him?” Rus ventured. “You said you didn’t much care for him anyway.”

Orin smirked before pausing thoughtfully. At length, he shook his head. “No, I’m afraid I can’t just let this lie. I have business with that man in the orb.”

“He is the master of this dungeon,” Spear pointed out.

“So?”

“It means he is a literal God down here,” Rus explained.

“Then it looks like I’m going to have a chat with God,” Orin remarked dryly before hefting his sword pointedly.

Rus sighed and turned to the others. “What did I say? He’s made up his mind and won’t be convinced otherwise.”

“That is a shame,” the woman remarked.

Rus sighed again and extended his hand towards the warrior. “It looks like this is where we part ways. You were a pain in the arse and I’m glad to see the back of you.”

Orin glared at the hunter who broke into a broad smile. “What, would you rather we wept on one another’s shoulders?”

Orin broke into a grin and shook the hunter’s hand. “No, this is fine. You were a coward until the end. You didn’t fire a single arrow at that creature, did you?”

Rus arched an eyebrow. “Are you crazy? You saw what it did to their chum.”

The hunter attempted to pull away, but Orin held fast onto his hand. “Hold on, you haven’t held up your end of our bargain. How do I get to the deeper levels?”