As Mike surged through the temple, cutting down foe after foe, he eventually burst into the open courtyard before the colossal dragon statue. There, perched atop a monstrous amalgamation of mythical creatures, sat a lone man—Zaltheral, the cult leader. The hideous creature under him bore the wings of a griffin and wyvern, the face of a manticore, and multiple tails each with its own hydra-like head. It was a nightmarish amalgam, a monstrous entity. However, it wasn't the beast that halted Mike's steps; it was the chilling recognition of the man on top.

Though the elf's memories were now fuzzy, seeing Zaltheral's face brought the haunting recollections back into sharp focus. He was the stalker who had ended their past lives. Sophia snapped out of her disassociation at the jarring sight, a visceral reaction to being torn from her own psyche. "YOU!" The twins scream out from Valicar’s throat.

Mike unleashed a blazing torrent of fire from Red Noon, aiming it directly at Zaltheral. The man deflected the attack with the assistance of the beast, causing its massive limb to be severed. Yet, before Mike could press further, the creature's tentacles ensnared Valicar, halting his movement.

Amid a storm of rage, Mike unleashed a torrent of threats, his voice carrying the weight of seething anger. "You motherfucker! I'll stomp your face in again!" The air crackled with the intensity of his fury, each word a venomous declaration of the hatred burning within him. Zaltheral, the target of his searing rage, remained stoic, seemingly unaffected by the verbal onslaught.

"Silence, beast," the man retorted, his gaze fixed on Valicar, seemingly overlooking Mike's furious snarl that revealed Valicar's shark-like teeth. Sophia, struggling to process the revelation of their killer's presence, managed only a bewildered "Why?" The weight of this encounter, their murderer standing before them, stunned her.

"Master, how delightful it is to hear your voice once more! Please calm down, all will be explained in due time. But first, you must gain control of this vessel and cease your uncontrollable brother's rampage. He was never meant to accompany you here or to this world. But fear not, we can rectify that once we possess the Vault," Zaltheral promised.

In Mike's fiery rage and the chaos around them, Zaltheral remained composed, an air of calm contrasting the surrounding turmoil. As Mike fought fiercely, incinerating more of the monster's appendages, the undead swarmed around him, clearly aiming to capture rather than kill. Sophia's voice wavered with inner turmoil, torn between Valicar's dire situation and the ongoing battle. Despite this, she pleaded with her brother, her voice trembling, "Stop, Mike."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me, Soph! This bastard killed us in our past life! All of our suffering, sharing a body, all the people we've killed... it's all because of this son of a bitch..." Mike's fury erupted, and the facade of restraint shattered. They knew his nature, and he had no qualms about revealing the full extent of his wrath. He called upon Anna Sha, ready to unleash everything within him. Yet, something internal, something incredibly potent, halted his actions—a compelling force, almost overwhelming.

"I said to stop," Sophia declared with finality. Her will, long shattered, had found newfound certainty, and from her soul radiated an immense draconic power, a force that pulsed with authority and resolve.

"Fine," Mike conceded, his smoldering rage tempered by Sophia's calm and almost cool demeanor. Annoyance laced his words. "It would've been nice if you'd snapped out of it earlier," he muttered, sheathing his blade as they were released from the beast's clutches.

"You will answer all of my questions, or I will tear this place down, not Mike! But me!" Sophia's declaration carried an air of determination, an unyielding resolve that swept over her. The burden of guilt, the weight of all the suffering—they needed a reason, an explanation for the torment they had endured.

The trio made their way back into the temple's confines. The corpses Mike had recently felled rose, moving with purpose to clear away the bodies that couldn't rise on their own, undoubtedly destined for sinister abominations. They eventually arrived at a small dining hall, surprisingly bustling with living staff. The room buzzed with life—a welcome sight amidst the otherwise desolate and macabre setting. It was a stark contrast to the undead laborers, now it was living beings conducting menial tasks. A servant approached their table, offering drinks, as they sat across from the man who had once murdered them. Hatred simmered in both Mike and Sophia, but Sophia was resolute in her determination to uncover the truth behind this man's atrocities.

Zaltheral began, his voice carrying a hint of remorse. "Let's start with why and how I killed you. Your return was always part of our plan, but we had to wait centuries due to the power that sent you away. After your defeat at the Pillar of the North hands, the magic he used to banish you was a self-fulfilling curse. It drained your magical power to keep you in that world until you returned to a normal level, at which point you could be brought back. As for how I did it, I simply possessed a man, with the assistance of the cult. It took a few decades to gather the necessary power to traverse dimensions. I was only there for a short time, and what I did was a rash given the limited time of the spell. I knew you wouldn't remember or believe me so I took drastic action. I'm truly sorry about your brother; he wasn't meant to be caught up in this."

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Regret seemed to etch itself onto Zaltheral's features as he spoke, a tinge of sorrow clouding his expression.

The tension hung heavy in the air as Mike's anger erupted. "You killed me, but hey, at least you're sorry, right cunt?" he retorted sharply.

Zaltheral's response was laced with an edge of superiority. "You're hardly one to criticize others for murder. This temple is brimming with the dead of those you slew, although death is merely an obstacle for us," he stated calmly, his tone betraying a sense of aloofness.

"So, what exactly do you want from us that you're willing to cross dimensions and wait for centuries?" Sophia questioned.

Zaltheral's explanation unfolded with a somber tone. "Originally, only you were meant to return, but we underestimated your magical power, even in its weakened state. Our goals, however, remain consistent. James wished to bar your return and leave you there, but we aim to continue your dream of separating the gods and the demons from our world. We are immortals who had to earn our status, not simply gifted it, and we aim to rule as the supreme beings of our world," he admitted.

"How many lives will be sacrificed for this?" Sophia asked, perturbed.

Zaltheral regarded her with a contemplative gaze. "Does it truly matter, Master? It never did in the past. You still seek to destroy the church and defeat the Pillar of the North. I must admit, I'm confused as to why you would allow your brother to slay so many of us. Surely, our goals align," he said, his confusion apparent.

"Whatever I might have been, I am not that now," Sophia retorted with a tinge of disgust.

"Is that so? Then what is your goal in coming here, claiming the keys, and fighting the church?" Zaltheral questioned.

Sophia replied, "To separate our souls and revive Easton."

"And what of your fight? Your quest for power?" Zaltheral prodded further.

Sophia hesitated for a moment before answering, "Well, to bring freedom to the people of the empire and my fellow mages, I guess."

"Come on, Soph, don’t let this asshole get into your head. It was both of our decision to go on this quest for power to separate our souls. It was James who first put us on it. Since we first met him in the woods, besides, who wouldn’t want revenge after what Bellic did to our village," Mike interjected, his voice still laced with rage. He was steadfast in supporting his sister and addressing her wavering doubt.

"Let me ask you this, Master: was it truly you that set out on this quest, or was it your brother?" Zaltheral questioned.

"It was me. I’ve always wanted to see the world. I had a sense of adventure, and although the things we have seen have been horrible, I don’t regret any of the adventures we’ve had," Sophia admitted, not just to them but to herself. Most of her quest had been one grand adventure she always wanted, but if she knew what she did now she likely would have never started it, yet she was glad they had.

"None of that matters. Now we are here, so tell us how to bring Easton back and how to separate our souls!" Mike called out in rage. Zaltheral looked annoyed but answered Mike’s question.

"Bringing Easton back is a simple matter. Simply use the Shadow Orb, now in your possession, channel a million souls through it and into his body. He will be brought back to life but at a great cost. He was packed with a demon, and the demon would not simply let him go. You will have to combat it to get it to release his soul. As for separating your souls, the Shadow Orb plays a tremendous role, but it is only one part of a larger machine, the rest of which is locked away in the dwarven vault in the central continent, the very same you’ve been gathering the keys for," Zaltheral explained.

"Perfect, then we can kill you now," Mike said, drawing his blade in a flash, only to be stopped in his tracks by Sophia. They had not fought for control in years, but her will was strong, and his arms stopped nonetheless.

"Wait, Mike, he isn’t done," Sophia said, the man not even flinching, as they put Red Noon away once more.

"As I was saying, once your souls are separated, Mike will be returned to his original reality. Your magical power was keeping you there, and once it ran out, you were due back to return to our world. But without you, Mike has no anchor to stay here, and so you will never see each other again. But that is for the best, and I will happily help you separate your souls for you," Zaltheral revealed the dark truth of the situation.

"That… That can’t be," the twins took the news like a cannonball to the gut. They had fought for so long to separate their souls, only to learn that if they did, they would never see each other again.

Sophia's resolve wavered, her inner turmoil surging. Memories of shared laughter, struggles, and unspoken camaraderie flooded her mind. The prospect of eternal separation from her brother, her closest friend, and her only family, struck her with an emotional avalanche.

Mike, too, grappled with the newfound revelation, the depth of loss that loomed over him. He had fought alongside Sophia through the darkest of times, his connection to her transcending mere siblinghood. The thought of never seeing her again after all they'd endured felt like a rending of his very being.

Zaltheral's words echoed within the cavernous room, a grim reality hanging in the air. The path to their goals held the cruel cost of parting ways forever. Yet, amidst the overwhelming despair, a spark of defiance flickered within Sophia.

"We won't do it," she declared, her voice trembling with a blend of anguish and determination.

"Excuse me?" Zaltheral's demeanor shifted, his calm veneer giving way to a hint of disbelief.

"We won't separate our souls. We'll find another way," Sophia's words were resolute, her will forged from the depths of her conviction.

The declaration hung in the air, an unexpected defiance against fate's cruel decree. It was a moment of resolve, a flicker of hope amidst the suffocating despair. The twins, bonded by an unbreakable connection, stood together against the abyss that threatened to tear them apart.