!Okay.

Tham nodded to himself, pursing his lips. Wearing the Mimicker as a helmet, he could see him, in the distance. Merdilen Arthenmon. Running towards the mountain, holding a flaming banner.

“This is it,” Tham said. “Right, Mimicker?”

“Yeah, let’s go already!” the Mimicker exclaimed. “We haven’t got much time!”

Tham narrowed his eyes, and started dashing up the street. The few onlookers, Unbaddians with questionable late jobs, scoffed at him as he ran on the dark cobblestone. Tham was terrified. All it took was a single guard noticing him and he’d be doomed.

He ran out into the open night as buildings gave way to tents and onlookers to slaves. There was no restricting wall here anymore. Who on Athoren would dare escape?

Tham didn’t know whether any soldiers noticed him or not. He was too scared to look around. What he did know was that Merdilen’s distraction was being effective. The army following Merdilen seemed to have left these streets empty.

Tham’s exhaustion got the better of him halfway through. The Mimicker was heavy, no matter if as a helmet, as boots, or as a sword. Drops of sweat hit the dry ground as he panted, trying to catch his breath. He never had been the athletic kind.

Come… on! Tham thought, desperate. I can’t stop now! Kayden needs me! My family will need me!

He continued running, only to stop a short while later. He glanced over at Merdilen. He was running smoothly, leaping from tent to tent, faster than all chasing soldiers. Then why couldn’t Tham even get to the mountain?!

A furtive silhouette scrambled along the corner of his vision. Another did the same on the other side. Tham turned to the left, scared, and exhausted.

A dark-skinned girl about his age was staring at him with emerald eyes.

“You’re… trying to save us,” she said in a low, hypnotizing voice. “...Aren’t you?”

A man from behind him spoke as well.

“Thank you,” the man said. “We believe in you.”

Tham paused.

…No. I can’t save you all, he thought. But he couldn’t say that to their faces. He winced.

“...Yes,” he finally said, closing his eyes. “I’m here to save you.”

The dark-skinned girl his age approached him, held up his hand in hers, and dropped a small vial of something into his hand.

“Take this,” she said. “Use it when you need it most.”

“What is it?” Tham asked.

“Power.”

Tham looked at her eyes, those dazzling eyes.

“...Thank you,” he muttered. “I’ll be back.”

The girl nodded.

All around Tham a group of slaves had come together. They all then closed their eyes, clasping their hands.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

They were praying.

“...I’ll be back,” Tham found himself repeating. There were still people who hoped in this world.

Far in the distance, in the mountainside, a chunk of rock was blown away by something Tham couldn’t see. That was it. Merdilen’s signal. Kayden had to be in there.

And then he continued running.

– – –

Kayden could hear chaos. It was far away and muffled, but something was definitely going on. Somewhere, outside whatever prison complex he was in.

What was going on? He could just hope Tham wasn’t involved. Or in danger.

Maybe he could use it as distraction to–

The gate to his prison cell opened.

“Hey, Kayden,” Lauren’s voice called out to him from the darkness. “Is the guy outside your friend?”

Kayden narrowed his eyes. “What?”

“He’s really wreaking havoc on my camp,” Lauren said through gritted teeth. “Blond hair, black coat, flaming banner. Ring a bell?”

“Uhh, no.” Kayden genuinely didn’t recognize the description. But he wouldn’t have said anything if he had.

“Well, if you got a telepathic link with the guy or something,” Lauren finally said, her voice farther away, “tell him I’m coming for him.”

– – –

Now what?

Merdilen had already brought all soldiers to his position, then blown a chunk off the mountain by Transmutating it to powder. The mountain wasn’t easy to climb while being chased by an army, but he had nothing better to do. He just had to buy some time for Tham to escape with Kayden, and then he was out.

It was clear these soldiers had never fought a Transmutator before. Even so, the adrenaline felt good. It made him feel alive again. Even though this was just an afterlife. What if he died here? He wasn’t about to find out anytime soon.

For each jump he couldn’t make he Transmutated the sand of his glove pockets into stone steps attached to the rock surface, turning it back to sand as soon as he hopped off. The soldiers didn’t have the same luck. They were having a tough time climbing with their steel armor, and most had already either dropped out or fallen off.

This is gonna be–

A loud ringing in his head. Power. Approaching. He could feel it.

He’d felt this presence before.

And then he saw her rising.

The Everbender, levitating high over the mountain, rapier in hand, metallic mask on her mouth and nose.

“Okay,” Merdilen muttered, catching his breath as he stopped halfway through a stone step. He let the burning banner fall down into some unfortunate soldier and Transmutated the long pole back into a black longsword. “I’ve been waiting for this for a long time.”

The Everbender approached him through the air, stopping at a distance just far enough to be out of Merdilen’s Transmutation. She knew what she was doing.

“Everbender!” Merdilen called out. “I demand answers. What is this place?”

Merdilen could see her smiling wryly under her mask.

“Are there no mountains in your world?”

Merdilen frowned. “What do you mean ‘your world’?! What is this realm? How do I get back from this afterlife?”

The Everbender laughed. “So that’s what you think this is? You think you died? That you got into this hell because you misbehaved? Transmutator, Transmutator. Innocent kid. Don’t you get it? You’re not from here. Somehow, you got here from another world. …And I mean to find out how.”

Merdilen froze. “...But I died.”

“You clearly didn’t,” the Everbender snapped. “Hand yourself over and I’ll give you all the answers you’re looking for.”

“No,” Merdilen said, eyes narrowed. “I know your kind.”

“Then die.”

Merdilen felt his every system progressively slow down, his consciousness fading, his heart threatening to stop.

No, Merdilen thought. I… went through this once. I can… go through this again.

He just had to endure a few more seconds. Hold his consciousness. Make her think he’s passing out. Hold… his… consciousness.

The Everbender approached. He didn’t see her. He felt her. Just a little longer.

Just… a little… longer.

He was no longer breathing. His head swam. His heartbeat was barely audible anymore.

Just a tiny bit closer…

And then it happened.

The Everbender entered Merdilen’s range.

He couldn’t see or hear anymore. He just felt.

And then he Transmutated. Her metallic mask into sand. Her red coat into hard rock. And she fell.